The Horrors of A Fan Club
by tomboy14
Summary: With the betrayal of Sasuke and marriage of Neji and Tenten, all the fangirls of Konoha have to find a new person to worship. Lucky for him, this new person is...Shikamaru? Why's Ino so jealous of its leader, and what about a mission to Suna? [ShikaIno]
1. The Problem

**AN:** Hey, this is tomboy14! Yay! First story coming up! Woohoo! This was inspired from my love of the ShikaIno pairing. I think they are perfect for each other! Okay, so for all you ShikaIno haters or ShikaTem lovers, I would suggest you stop now, unless you want to learn why I love this pairing. This takes place when they are about 17 years old and all characters are jounins. This will contain some swearing. Rated T to be safe. First time, remember? Okay, so here it is!

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

Nara Shikamaru wasn't treated as anything special until now. It was all because of that troublesome mission.

Flashback

_The boys had just gotten back from the last attempted retrieval mission. They had finally gotten Sasuke back, thanks to the persuading of Naruto and the tactical genius of Shikamaru. _

_Neji was hurrying ahead of the others. He couldn't wait to get back to the village. He had been away for 6 months, 3 months longer than originally planned. This meant a very important occasion had been delayed. _

"_So Neji,_ _I see you are in a hurry. Can't wait any longer to have Tenten?" Naruto, being the idiot he was, had just made a joke to the wrong person…_

"_Owww! What was that for? I was just joking!" Naruto had just been swiftly tripped by the Hyuuga genius, and had slipped off the branch he had been on at the time. Unfortunately for Neji, Naruto was a very skilled jounin now and was able to catch himself on a lower branch using chakra in his hands. _

"_Naruto, shut up. Troublesome." Their leader, Nara Shikamaru, had had enough of Naruto's teasing. They all knew that if he was in engaged and his marriage had been delayed, he would be rushing to get back to Konoha. As it was, transporting the unconscious Uchiha was a task of its own, and they didn't need their second in command to be pissed at Naruto. 'Why,' thought Shikamaru 'am I always put on a team with atleast one very troublesome person?' _

End Flashback

Even though Shikamaru thought it troublesome, the mission was a success, and so was Neji's wedding. This is now part of the reason our Shikamaru is so upset. Reason one…

"Shika-kun! Oh, Shika-kun!" a blur was then seen in the spot Shikamaru had just been standing in.

'Damn.' He thought as he took off running with energy you would never think one so lazy would have. His handsome and usually unreadable face now showing one emotion: fear. You guessed it; this is number one on Shikamaru's troublesome list: he officially had a fan club.

**AN:** Okay, so there is the first chapter. I would really like to know what you think about this so far. When I look at it, I think it could stay as one chapter, but I have a lot to say still. I didn't even get Ino in yet. She will appear and descriptions of what the characters look like will be in the next chapter. Thanks for reading and please tell me if I should continue. I know I said my first fiction would be a oneshot, but this popped in my head and I had to do it. Sasuke will not play a huge role, I think, but this is going to be funny, and the characters will seem OOC farther along if you want me to continue. Thank you so much again!!!


	2. Mine!

**AN:** I checked out my stats and I saw that I had over 100 viewings for my story! Wow! When I first started reading stories here, I wouldn't leave a review until I was a couple chapters along or I really liked the story. So, what I am saying is that I appreciate all of you for reading and hope you continue to, whether you review or not!!! Thank you and on to chapter 2!

Special shout outs to my 2 reviewers the vampire armond and DarkMaidenTerri

Thank you so much for your reviews! If anyone else sent a review and it's not on here, I'm sorry. I wrote this chap. before anyone else reviewed.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or any of its characters…just go on and rub it in…

'Damn. That was close. So troublesome.' Shikamaru thought. He had just escaped his fan girls, and was currently perched on a tree, near team 10's old training grounds.

"Hey, where did he go?"

"Oh no! Where is Shika-kun! Shika-kun! Where are you?"

"Great job, ladies! Now we lost him!"

His fan girls were just about to come across the clearing and head back to the path that leads you into the main part of Konoha. 'Only 1 minute and 30 seconds judging by the pace of that damn leader of theirs, Aiko."

Aiko was a very interesting girl. She had light purple hair that came midway down her back (think Sakura style before she cut it off) and deep amethyst eyes. She has never dated anyone, even though she was the most attractive female of the regular citizens. She was a regular citizen of Konoha, but was brought up in a ninja family. Her parents didn't want her to get hurt, so she wasn't allowed to become a ninja, or date a ninja, either, for getting hurt emotionally. That is one of the reasons she chased after Shikamaru, that and he was extremely attractive.

Yes, I spoke correctly; Shikamaru had become attractive over the years. He was now about 6 foot 2 inches and, although not as muscular as some, had an awesome body. He had a great tan, too, probably from watching the clouds on sunny afternoons. An attractive genius, how can the girls resist him?

"Hey! Shikamaru! Where are you?" just his luck. His blonde teammate and best friend Yamanaka Ino was running to find him. 'Oh no! If she finds me, so will Aiko! Troublesome woman!"

Shikamaru then decided that he had to do something very troublesome: get Ino and get the hell out of here!

All Ino had been doing was minding her own business when she was called to Tsunade's office. She had been told that she was going on a spying mission. That wasn't much of a surprise; she always got spying missions, especially because of her appearance. What surprised her, though, was that Shikamaru, Konoha's top strategist, was going to accompany her. 'He never gets any missions like this anymore! This must be important!'

So, Ino had been sent to find him and tell him about the mission. So now she was in the forest. She had heard the commotion in the town and knew exactly where to find him. She was his best friend, what did you expect?

"Hey! Shikamaru! Where are you?" she had called out to him. She didn't see any of the fan girls, so she decided to call out to him.

"Shika-mmph!" Ino felt a hand covering her mouth and an arm around her waist. She started to struggle, but relaxed upon hearing his voice.

"Ino," he whispered into her ear, "Shhh, it's me. Don't let them hear you or I'm dead. Troublesome women." after he felt that she had calmed down, he let go off her mouth, and was just about to remove his arm from her waist and both were jump into the trees when…

"Shika-kun! There you—what the hell are you doing here Ino! You aren't trying to cuddle up to my Shika-kun are you now?" Aiko said with a very rude tone toward Ino.

At first Ino was purely angry toward that Aiko, 'HER Shika-kun?! What the hell is that supposed to mean?! Nobody can call Shikamaru theirs but me!" Ino's race went red with rage, but then the other part of Aiko's statement dawned on her 'cuddle up…oh…' she then realized that Shikamaru still had his arm around her waist. Her face then went red again, but this time from embarrassment. She snuck a glance back up at Shikamaru, who was giving Aiko a death glare that rivaled Sasuke's. He then did something completely un-Shikamaru like: he tightened his grip on Ino and said

"So what if she is. Obviously you don't know anything, so why don't you just leave me the hell alone. You are so damn troublesome!"

The look on Aiko's and the forgotten fan girls, and Ino's, faces were priceless. Aiko looked like she was going to cry. The fan girls looked scared, amused, and sad at the same time. Ino looked like she was ready to kiss Shikamaru for yelling at that bitch Aiko, but her face was slightly pink from the way he held her and his statement.

"Yeah, Aiko, and all you other FAN girls out there. You know nothing about Shikamaru! If you knew anything about him, you would have known that we have been best friends our whole lives. Why else do you think I am always hanging out with him? You were probably too STUPID to notice that, and the fact that you were too jealous of me to see. Aiko, remind me again why you haven't gone out with Shikamaru again. Oh, yeah! Shikamaru just told you to get the hell away from him, so why don't you do that!"

Shikamaru wasn't expecting that from Ino. He didn't know why Aiko had a grudge against Ino, but maybe she thought they were… 'No. Who would think that Ino and I are…_together_? I mean come on. We are best friends, but not like _that_. But wait! Why was Ino getting so red earlier, and getting so mad at Aiko? Yeah, I guess Aiko could be a bitch toward Ino, but Ino had been getting nicer since the genin days, and had stopped being so mean to people that liked people she…_likes_? Does Ino…no way! Ino would never like me! That is impossible…and too good to be true…'

"Come on Shikamaru! We have some _ninja_ stuff to attend to! Oh yeah, Aiko, you wouldn't understand that kind of stuff. We'll be off now!" Ino then wrapped her arm around his waist, turned her head back and winked toward the fan girls, particularly Aiko, and walked away.

'You have no idea who you are messing with!' both Aiko and Ino thought at the same time. 'Don't you dare go messing with MY Shika-kun!'

Because both Ino and Shikamaru were walking back to town to discuss their mission, they didn't see all the fan girls disappearing in a puff of smoke, and Aiko pulling out a walkie talkie, "Step one of the mission is complete."

**AN:** I know, a kinda cliffie! Wow, this is turning out good! Sorry it took so long, and no, I am not like that in real life. The personality of Aiko A.K.A. me is made up, although I just want to say that I use Aiko as a nickname, so that is why I am Aiko. Yeah, characters are OOC but I like them that way, and they are older and at that age. Couldn't think of any other good Japanese names, so I only names Aiko, Aiko! Anyway, I will try to update soon!

Thanks for reading!

-tomboy14 A.K.A. Aiko

Aiko: reviews appreciated! constructive criticism always helpful!


	3. Mission in Suna?

**AN:** Okay, I would just like to say that I have over 600 people who have viewed my story! Woohoo! For all you readers out there, if you want to see your name, please review! I am sorry if your name is not up here. Just let me know if you reviewed and I missed it! Thank you for reading! I would like to thank these reviewers. Just know that you made my day when I read you great reviews:

Shout outs to my wonderful reviewers: ness345, Flaming Beauty, Kunai1415, xxforbiddendreemzxx, DarkMaidenTerri, punkbabe637, TheLovelyNatalieRose, and the vampire armond.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, yeah; you got me to say it. Now, leave me in peace…

* * *

Shikamaru and Ino had failed to see Aiko because they were too busy trying to get to the Hokage building.

"Troublesome" Shikamaru said as he was jumping on the trees, rushing to the Hokage building. "What does she want to see me so urgently about?"

"I don't know all the details, but we are going on a mission to Suna together. That's all I know. Tsunade said she would tell us more once I brought you to her."

"Oh." _Hmmm…what would she want Ino and me to do in Suna…_

----------

Shikamaru and Ino finally made it to the Hokage Tower. They were immediately let into Tsunade's office.

"Good. You're here. Now, let's get straight to business." Tsunade said, clasping her hands together and putting them under her chin. "Alright, did Ino tell you that you and she will be going to Suna?" she addressed to Shikamaru.

"Yes, but she told me that you would tell us the details when we arrived here."

"Correct. Now, for your mission. The two of you are to act as ambassadors of Konoha. You are each representing an organization we have. Shikamaru, you are head of the Strategic Division. You will be discussing strategies with Suna's representative. Ino, you are head ANBU interrogator. It is your job to discuss new ideas with the Kazekage about creating an interrogation unit. Konoha is relying on you to keep the ties with Suna secure, possibly stronger. This should take a few weeks at the most, depending on what you accomplish. Here are you passports. You will be heading out in the morning." Ino and Shikamaru stood up, received their passports from Tsunade, and bowed.

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama. We will do our best." Ino said as she was turning to leave.

Shikamaru nodded in agreement and set off after Ino, so they could discuss their mission in depth. _A few weeks away in Suna. With Ino. Alone. I have to do something so she will like me…this is going to be troublesome… _

Had Shikamaru not been so caught up in his thoughts, he would have noticed the faint amount of chakra going into Tsunade's office

----------

"Tsunade-sama, did you assign them the mission?"

"Yes. I hope you know what you are doing."

"Oh, I know what I am doing. Trust me, when that Nara comes back from this mission, you won't have to worry about any alliances being broken between the Water and the Leaf."

_I hope I am doing the right thing…damn that woman…_Tsunade thought as said person left. _Shikamaru, Ino, I'm sorry…_

----------

"Hey Shikamaru?"

"Hn."

"Well, I was wondering that since we are going to Suna…if we could visit his grave."

"…"

Ino looked at the ground. She really wanted to go, but didn't know how this would affect Shikamaru. _He's never really been the same since Asuma's death, and now this? It's hard for me, and him and Shikamaru were even closer. _She thought. Suna was a place with some bad memories…

"Sure. Let's go." He said, finally looking her in the eyes. It was apparent that this was going to be tough for him, but he knew Ino wanted to go, especially because they were going to Suna together. He needed to be there for her, like the friend he was. Something he couldn't do for someone else he cared about.

----------

They had finally reached the tombstone of one they had both loved dearly. Ino kneeled down in front of the tombstone, Shikamaru standing right behind her.

"Hey Chouji! How's it going up there? I bet you have had your fill of chips already!" she smiled sadly at the stone engraved with his name. "Yeah, so me and Shikamaru are off to Suna tomorrow morning. We are here to say goodbye for a few weeks, since we won't be able to visit. I know! Your favorite place right? Well, it's for the good of Konoha, so it can't be that bad. Well, I had better get going. I have to tell mom that I won't be able to work in the flower shop for a couple of days. Then I have to get ready for the mission. I'll visit you once I get back, I promise."

Ino stood up and brushed off her purple skirt. "Let's go." she said.

Ino's clothes hadn't changed much, even after all those years, Shikamaru noted as they left the graveyard. Instead of the very revealing purple shirt she usually wore, she had on a tight white tank top with her usual purple skirt today. She had on leg wrapping with her kunai pouch tied to her right leg. She still wore the ninja sandals, and her hair was tied up the same. Her headband was still tied around her waist.

Shikamaru, on the other hand, had changed a fair amount from his genin days. In place of the short, lanky boy with a pineapple shaped head stood a 6 foot 2 muscular young man who has a delicious tan and a pineapple shaped head. Yeah, he still kept his same hairstyle, but he was still very attractive. In an issue of the Konoha Ninja Weekly magazine, he had made it in the top 20 hottest ninjas at number 2. That was a near heart attack for Ino when she read the article, and when she saw that candid photo of him.

**Flashback: 2 months ago**

Ino had rushed to the store to pick up the new issue of Konoha Ninja Weekly, the hit magazine. This issue was the one where they would be showing the top 20 hottest ninjas and kunoichi of Konoha.

Ino had squealed in delight after she had seen that she was number one. _Now, just to see what guys did and did not make it…_ she thought as she flipped through the magazine while lying on her stomach on her bed. The magazine listed number 20 first and number 1 last.

_Wow, look at that guy…_she thought as she saw the number 9 ninja. He was a slightly tanned, very muscular man with light brown hair. She was blushing looking at the picture of him. It appeared that he was posing for the camera. Most of the other pictures of the men were candid. This man, named Morikama Hito, was clearly looking into the camera with a fishnet top and a sexy grin. His hazel eyes flashed with mischief as he smiled for the camera.

At number five stood a candid picture of Neji. How they got these candid shots was a mystery, especially on the Byakugan wielder. He was holding a kunai in the position to throw it onto a tree. You could see how his muscles contracted through his sweat-drenched shirt. _Tenten sure is lucky…_she thought to herself again.

It was now time for number 4. And our favorite knuckle-headed ninja won this position. He was also posing for this picture, smiling his goofy smile. _That Naruto…_ she thought as she smiled looking at his picture. She had come to be good friends with Naruto.

_Ah, number 3. Who do we have here?_ It was a picture of Sai. _Damn! Someone must have beaten out Sai. I wonder of Sasuke got beaten also. They are always the top 2 since the magazine was first published!_

Ino flipped the page, and opened to the number one page, which had a picture of Sasuke being emo. _Phew!_ she thought. _Atleast Sasuke stayed at number 1. Hmm, this must have been stuck together. She then slowly turned the page to the number2 hottie._

"Oh My God! What the hell!" she screamed; sitting up and taking a furtive glance at the page again to make sure she wasn't just imagining things. She still hadn't moved out of her parent's house, so her mother had come running up the stairs, barging into Ino's room to find out what had caused her daughter to scream.

"Ino! What's wrong! Did something," she then saw the magazine, which Ino then grabbed and held to her chest, "happen…"

"Ummm, no Mom. Nothing. Now leave! It was just a very surprising article in here. Yeah, that's it! A surprising article." Ino had a blush on her face, recalling the picture she had seen.

"Alright. Just try not to scream about a magazine article." Ino's mother then left her room, promising to return when Ino was gone to find out what she was hiding. Mrs. Yamanaka was not stupid.

Ino then opened the magazine and blushed again, looking at the picture and bio of her teammate. _Name: Nara Shikamaru. Age: 17. Rank: Jounin. Blood type: AB. Birthday: September 22nd. Status: single. Bio: Shikamaru is Konoha's top strategist. He has an IQ of over 200. He enjoys cloud-watching and playing Go and Shogi._ _At the age of 13, he was the only genin to become a chunin during that particular year's examination. _Shikamaru's picture was definitely a candid shot. He must have just gotten back from a mission, and had just taken off his shirt, showing off his tan and muscular chest. His shirt was being held in his hand. Shikamaru's hair tie was unfortunately still in. _Damn…who knew Shikamaru looked like that underneath those baggy shirts and that stupid jounin vest! I wish his hair tie has fallen out. I bet he would have looked even sexier with his hair down! Wait! What the hell am I thinking.! Shikamaru is not sexy! He isn't even remotely cute. The writer of this article must be biased or something._ she thought as she scrolled down to the end of the title page to see who had written this.

"No way." she whispered to herself. The page said: _These results have been tallied by the Konoha Ninja Weekly magazine. These winners were voted to their positions by the citizens of Konoha. These results are not necessarily the personal opinion of Konoha Ninja Weekly. _

**End Flashback**

_I couldn't look Shikamaru straight in the eye for a week. And then Mom had to find the magazine in my drawer and show Shika's picture to Mrs. Nara, who cried and said how her baby was growing up and was growing up to become such a fine young man_ she thought, reflecting on the moment. She had noticed how Shikamaru was becoming attractive and had eventually accumulated a fan club, but that didn't mean that she was going to share him. I know I like him, it just depends on if he likes me, and what we are going to do about this. Shikamaru woke Ino up out of her reverire.

"Oi Ino! Why is your face red?" he asked curiously. Luckily for Ino, the flower shop was right ahead.

"Sorry Shika-kun! I have to go! Thanks for coming with me! See you tomorrow at the gates around 5!" She yelled as she ran towards the flower shop.

_That was close… _

* * *

**AN:** Yes, I am done. This was kinda random, but I wanted to cover all bases. I think this is my longest chapter yet! Woohoo! Yeah! Anyways, thank you for leaving and please leave your thoughts on this chapter. I was thinking about writing a one-shot on Shika being number 2. Maybe his POV. Again, let me know what you think and I am sorry for taking so long! Thanks for sticking with me! I love you all for reading! 


	4. She Knows? Poor Ino!

**AN:** **I was looking at the last chapter and noticed all my grammar mistakes. I will try not to have as many in this chapter! So, I got atleast 5 reviews on the last chapter, so I updated. I can't believe I have 19 reviews for this story! **

**A big thanks to my reviewers: the vampire armond, ness345, ByAkUgAn NeJi, sona, TheLovelyNatalieRose, xxforbiddendreemzxx, and Fumei-824. Thank you for the wonderful reviews! They made my day!**

**Lucky you, because this is like the fastest I have attempted to update. Alright I just have to say I couldn't resist Ino thinking Shika is sexy. lol I love Shika-kun! (Glomps Shikamaru)**

**Ino: Get off him! He's mine! (Grabs Shika's arm)**

**Aiko: No! He's mine! (Grabs Shika's other arm)**

**Temari: No! And who the hell are you?! (Points at Aiko)**

**Aiko: Shikamaru's one true love! **

**Kiba: Cat Fight! (Sits down and grabs popcorn)**

**Me: O.o**

**Shikamaru: Mendokuse… (It means troublesome for those who don't know)**

**Me: Where the hell did Temari and Kiba come from? (Looks at Shika being pulled by his fan girls) Poor Shika**

**Shikamaru: You are the twisted author that is writing this and torturing me…**

**Me: Hehehe. Ummm…alright, so here is the fourth installment of The Horrors of a Fan Club! Sorry about this conusing conversation **

**(Conusing is an inside joke between me and Flaming Beauty. It is specifically spelled that way, not confusing. It is my word, so don't steal it!)**

**Dedication: This is dedicated to my friend Flaming Beauty. This is for all her wonderful comments and our interesting conversations. Yes, here is your update. Readers, please check out her story Night Killer (plug-plug). Night Killer is rated M, so it is only for mature readers. I am just starting to beta it, so please excuse any grammar mistakes. They will be gone starting with the third chapter of her amazing story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto; only the very original plot of this story and my character Aiko. **

* * *

Ino slammed the door to the Yamanaka Flower shop shut and leaned against it. Her face was blood red and she was breathing heavily. She uttered a sigh of relief. _That was close _she thought.

"Ino! What are you doing running in here all red and breathless?" Ino's mom exclaimed. She was just about to close the shop when her daughter barged in there. She was glad no customers were in there, then Ino would have had hell to pay.

Ino had just noticed her mom was in there. This made her look up in surprise to see her mother's concerned face. "Is everything alright?" her mom asked.

"Fine. I just wanted to tell you that I won't be able to work for the next couple of days. I have a mission in Suna." Ino replied after she had regained her composure. Ino's mother wasn't buying it. Like I said before, she is not stupid.

_I wonder what is really going on…_she was looking at her daughter intently. Ino winced under her intense gaze. "Ino, I know you are hiding something. I have known you for 17 years, so you aren't going to get away with anything. You might as well tell me know."

"Really, Mom, there is nothing more to it. I am just going on a mission to Suna tomorrow morning and won't be back for a few weeks, so I can't work in the shop. I have to get up early tomorrow and meet Shikamaru." _Oh shit._

Ino's mother gave a knowing smile. _Got you._ "The young Nara, now. You haven't been on a mission with him in a while. And I assume you just got back from the briefing _with_ _him_, and you were red when you got in here. Hmmm..."

"Mom! It's nothing like that!" Ino was blushing even more than before. _Dammit she knows! _"I have got to go get packed and should probably go to sleep early tonight. Good night!" Ino started to run out the door, but still heard what her mother said.

"I told you it was no use hiding anything from me!"

Oh, Ino knew that once she got back from this mission, she was in for it.

* * *

**AN: I know, right back to the short chapters. Sorry! This just came to mind, so I had to put this in there. Now, Ino's mom knows she likes Shikamaru. She had been suspecting it for a while. Now her suspicions are confirmed. Next chapter will include Shikamaru and him reflecting on Chouji's death and a little bit more of his raging fan girls. They have barely made any appearances. As for the woman that talked to Tsunade, we will gradually learn more. Remember, this is my first chapter story, so be kind and please review. I hope to get the next one up really soon! Thank you all for reading, and if you want your name up top, you gotta review! I could really use the feedback! It is gonna get interesting from here on out!**


	5. Chouji's Death Poor Shikamaru!

**AN: I got some good advice to update on Christmas Eve because you get a lot of reviews! Don't make this person a liar! **

**Thanks to my reviewers: TheLovelyNatalieRose, SMGstring, aki-child, azuka knight, Mrs. Nara Ino, Kunai1415, and ness345.**

**Well, here is the fifth chapter. It is Shika-centered this time! We will learn of Chouji's death also. Of course, a really embarrassed Shikamaru will appear! It is so cute when he is embarrassed! **

**Shikamaru: Why do you torture me?**

**Me: Because I love you!**

**Aiko, Temari, Ino, and his countless fan girls: What?! (Chases me around Konoha)**

**Kiba: Cat Fight! (Grabs popcorn again)**

**My little brother: How did she get to Konoha? Take me with you sis! (Attempts to jump into television while Naruto is on) Ouch! Damn you! (Gives television a death glare rivaling Sasuke's)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Team 10 would be the main characters.**

* * *

Our oblivious Shikamaru just shrugged and continued walking towards his parent's house. He was curious as to why Ino was acting so strange earlier, but just shrugged it off. He had a mission tomorrow and would have to start packing. It was already getting late; the sun was setting. He was due for one of his regular visits back home tonight, and his mother would have a fit if he was late. He shuddered at the thought. _She's scarier than Ino…_hethought to himself.

Shikamaru had moved out of his parent's home after he had become a jounin. It was a small apartment, but he didn't mind. Just less cleaning to do, he told himself. He had shared it with Chouji until his death. _Chouji…_

It was hard to believe that Chouji had died on such a simple mission in Suna. He had calculated every possible factor and had numerous backup plans, but this had been unexpected.

Flashback 

Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji had been sent on a short mission to Suna. They were simply there to deliver a scroll from Tsunade to Gaara, the new Kazekage. It contained very important information on shinobi from both lands, and if in the wrong hands could start another war, dooming both villages. It was safer to keep it in Suna with Gaara, so Tsunade decided on the old Team 10 to deliver it. She knew that they would keep it safe.

As they were about to leave Suna, Water invaded Sand. They stayed an extra 6 weeks to help defend their ally. Other Konoha ninja were sent to help. Among them were Kiba, Shino, Tenten, and Neji.

Disaster then struck. With some of its best shinobi gone, Konoha was vulnerable to attack. It was then that Water struck Leaf with an army of over 10, 000. Konoha was not weak, but its ninja that specialized in defense were in Suna. Tsunade sent a message for Chouji and Shino to return to Konoha to help defend, and that more would come to Suna to help them. There was a problem. Shino was injured and couldn't make it back without endangering his health. Chouji was fine, but would not be sent back alone. It appeared as if Konoha was in serious danger.

Chouji had decided to go back anyway. Ino and Shikamaru wouldn't let him. Shikamaru used his Shadow jutsu on him to hold him in place until he was injected with a sleeping needle. Chouji woke up early and snuck out of the hospital. He was ambushed on his way to Konoha, but was successful and defeated the foreign ninja. He was badly injured though, and took a soldier pill to continue on his way back home. He arrived back in Konoha and didn't tell anyone of his wounds. He fought bravely against the opposing ninja, and helped to save Konoha. After the effects of the pill wore off, he collapsed as Leaf was celebrating. He was immediately taken to the hospital.

Ino and Shikamaru heard the bad news about their good friend. They were granted permission to leave Suna and to head back home. A week after they arrived, Chouji had died from internal wounds.

End Flashback 

Shikamaru hadn't realized that this mission was going to be so hard on him. Last time he went on a simple mission to Suna, he had lost someone close to him. _What would I do if I can't protect someone else I care about? I couldn't live of Ino also…died…_

He had just reached the front porch of the Nara residence. The door was swung open abruptly. He was faced with something that made his blood run cold…his mother.

"Nara Shikamaru! What took you so long? You were supposed to be here an hour ago! Do you know how worried I was about you?" Shikamaru just tuned her out after that.

"It's nice to see you to, Mom." He then walked right past her and sat at the table next to his father. Shikamaru's mother was shocked. How dare her son just walk right past her like that. If looks could kill, Shikamaru would be dead by now.

"Honey, just calm down. I think he had a rough day." Shikato said to his fuming wife. He had noticed that his son was even more out of it than usual, and was worried. "Now tell me, Shikamaru, what happened? Do you have a mission coming up?"

"Yeah. It's in Suna." He spoke the name with such venom it made his father cringe.

"Oh." He knew there was nothing he could do about this. Shikamaru would just have t deal with it himself. "Who are you going with?"

"…Ino." he replied after a slight hesitation. This news made Shikato smirk in delight. He knew of his son's infatuation with the Yamanaka girl, and knew that there was only one way to get Shikamaru to stop moping around: embarrass him.

"Ah, Inoichi's daughter! Well isn't that nice. Don't do anything out there that I wouldn't do!" he gave Shikamaru a wink. Shikamaru turned beet red.

"Dad!" this was the reason Shikamaru hated visiting his parents. Even though he got a free meal, he had to endure torture from his father whenever the name Ino came up.

"Oh, and I spotted this flyer while I was coming home yesterday. I think it might interest you." Shikato then handed the flyer to Shikamaru. Shikamaru just sighed. It said:

**Want to join the most popular club in Konoha? Meet some new people with similar interests? Well, join the Shikamaru Fan Club! Tryouts for the S.F.C. are being held this next Saturday at 10 am at the Chunin Examination Building. Please call club leader Aiko for more information: 555-SHIKA**

"Why me?" Shikato just smirked. _Poor Shikamaru…_he thought.

**

* * *

AN: Alright, I didn't embarrass Shika too much.**

**Shikamaru: No, but you give people the chance to join my fan club. Oh, great, more fan girls. Just what I wanted for Christmas. **

**Me: Oh, by the way, don't call that number. I just made it up. Shika-kun, you did? But I got you something else. Hey Ino, get over here.**

**Ino: (stands next to Shikamaru) Yes?**

**Me: Mistletoe!**

**Shikamaru and Ino: (blushing) Shit. (start to do hand signs for their signature jutsus)**

**Me: Fine, you don't have to kiss. I will just have to add that in a later chapter…woops! Hehehe um, please review and thanks for reading! Have a very Merry Christmas! Reviews are the only present I want for Christmas! Please make my wish come true!**


	6. An Interesting Night and Morning

**AN: OMG I am ready to cry! I have 33 reviews! (Glomps people who reviewed) I would like to thank you all for sticking with me so far. You encourage me to keep going, even though I know this is not the best story out there! Okay, so I would like to thank these people for reviewing on the previous chapter: Kunai1415, ness345, SMGstring, aki-child, Mrs. Nara Ino, and a special thank you to xxforbiddendreemzxx for reviewing both chapter 4 and 5 after 5 had come out! That is a great person right there! Thank You Thank You Thank You to all my reviewers out there!!! These make my day. Now if only I could get some reviews for my other story: Home At Last: Nickelback Style. It is in desperate need of reviews and will be stopped after drabble 3 if I don't get some reviews on it. Alright, I kinda realized just recently that I haven't had any fan girl action lately and this story is called The Horrors of a Fan Club! What kinda idiot forgets about the characters that are in the title? **

**Shikamaru: You.**

**Me: Eh, shut up Ino fan boy.**

**Shikamaru: (Blushing) You just made that up right now.**

**Me: Then why is the secret room in your apartment dedicated to Ino and have the Ino fan club emblem on the wall?**

**Shikamaru: How the hell did you get in my apartment? (Realizes mistake and blushes) Shit. This is so troublesome.**

**Me: On with the story while I torture Shika. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

Knock-Knock 

Shikamaru woke to the sound of someone knocking on his door. He looked at the clock. 2:18 am. Shikamaru just rolled over and tried to fall back asleep.

Knock-Knock-Knock

The person knocking was persistent and was obviously getting impatient. Shikamaru uttered a sleepy troublesome and crawled out of bed, not even bothering to check his appearance. He slowly made his way out of his room and into the entrance hallway.

Knock-Knock-Knock

"I'm coming! Troublesome." He yelled as he grasped the door knob, yanking it open.

"Shikamaru! What took so long? I was standing here for 10 minutes!" She then fully noticed what he was wearing, or what he was not wearing for that matter. Shikamaru was clad only a pair of sweatpants. His hair was also down, stopping just above his shoulders. Ino blushed furiously.

Shikamaru's tired brain barely registered her blush, or her for that matter. He just left the door open and layed down on the couch.

"What do you want, Ino? It's after 2 in the morning and we have to be leaving for our mission in less than 3 hours." He yawned, a nicely tanned hand covering his mouth.

Ino was just staring at him, partially forgetting why she had come over at this hour. _Damn. He looks even sexier in person than in that magazine photo. Look at those muscles! And that tan! Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!_ She then realized that he was waiting for an answer. She blushed again and started to explain why she had come.

"Well, your stupid fan girls" she said 'fan girls' with venom, "decided to come over to my house and warn me about not doing anything to their _Shika-kun_ or else. I had to tell them off, of course, I mean how dare they wake me up in the middle of the night and yell at me! So, now that bitch Aiko comes over about 15 minutes after the rest of them and tells me something very interesting." Ino then grabbed a flyer and showed it to Shikamaru. It was the same one his father had shown him. "It turns out that this flyer was posted in Suna as well as here in Konoha, and Aiko is to go there and discuss a Suna branch of your fan club! And guess who gets to escort her over there. Us! Tsunade-sama gave her permission and says that this will bring 'stronger bonds between Suna and Konoha!'" Ino was breathing heavily and looked like she was going to scream. Not only was she not going to get any alone time with Shikamaru, but his number one fan girl would be going with them, and no doubt flirting with him. _I am having a serious talk with Tsunade after this! _

Shikamaru was fully awake now and sitting up on the couch. He was having similar thoughts to Ino. _Dammit! Why did it have to be with that fan girl! Ugh, I am never going to get to talk to Ino if this keeps happening. _Shikamaru then sighed.

"If that is all you had to tell me, you might as well leave and try to get some rest. We still have to get up early."

"But those fan girls are camping outside my house! I can't sleep with them bugging me and I can't hurt them. Not all of them are ninja and Tsunade would kill me if I did something to the ninja ones. Do you know how many other ANBU are in your club? I would never hear the end of it at work!" she then sighed. "And you think _I _am troublesome…"

"Fine. You can stay here tonight. We'll just have to get up earlier to get your stuff. I bet Aiko will be here early to meet us here. You know the way to Chouji's old bedroom."

"Oh, don't worry! I brought my stuff with me! Thanks, Shika-kun!" she smiled and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before she went off to Chouji's old bedroom.

"Troublesome." he said, blushing, and followed her down the hall to the bedroom next door. He doubted that he was going to get much sleep tonight with Ino sleeping in the room right next to his.

_-----_

It was 4:45 am and Aiko would be showing up any minute now. Knowing how dangerous it could get if Aiko saw Shikamaru in his sleeping attire, Ino decided to wake him up early before she could do that. Ino quickly changed into her usual ninja attire and walked to the room next to hers to wake Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru," Ino said gently, slowly opening the door to his room, "time to wake up!"

"Ugh, troublesome." he said as he rolled over, his back now facing her. Ino just grinned evilly. _I gave you a chance. _She thought. Ino then slowly walked over to his sleeping form and bent over him, her breath hot on his ear. She could see his slight blush at their close proximity.

"Nara Shikamaru! Get your lazy ass up! The bitch will be here soon!" she screamed in his ear. He sat straight up and grabbed his ear. After realizing that her plan had worked, he glared at her. She just smiled sweetly at him.

"What did I do, _Shika-kun_?" she said the last part sarcastically. God was she getting on his nerves. _Well, two can play at that game. _Shikamaru than grabbed her arm and pulled her down next to him. He then used his jutsu to hold her in place, forcing them both to lay down on the bed. Shikamaru closed his eyes and started to fall back to sleep.

"Shikamaru! What the hell? Release me so we can leave. She will be here any minute!" She was trying as hard as she could to move, but just couldn't; his jutsu was too strong.

"Oh Shika-kun! I'm here! Tsunade-sama gave me a key knowing how lazy...you…are…" Aiko stared at the scene before her. She couldn't believe what she saw. _My Shika-kun is in bed with that slut Ino?!_

Shikamaru sat upright, staring at the intruder, forcing Ino to do so as well. All 3 pairs of eyes were wide in disbelief. _Shit._ Ino and Shikamaru thought simultaneously. Shikamaru then released his jutsu and Ino fell on Shikamaru from surprise. This just got her another stare from Aiko. Both Shikamaru and Ino were blushing even more than before.

"Look, it's not what you think!" they said in unison, but it was too late. Aiko had pulled out her phone and taken a picture of the scene. She then called her other fan girls. The girl that was taking the calls had the phone on speaker so all the other fan girls could hear the good news from their leader.

"Hey guys, guess what! I've got blackmail on Shika-kun and that slut Ino!"

**

* * *

AN: I know what you are thinking _When is this damn mission going to start?_ Well, I will start it next chapter. I know I have been giving you fillers, but it is all to help the plot. Yes, I finally got some fan girl action in here. Oh, and we should find out more about that surprise visitor to Tsunade after she discussed that mission with Shika and Ino. I know a lot of people hate OC's, but there are not that many characters in the Naruto world that would join Shikamaru's fan club. So, I put one in here. Don't worry all you action lovers, fight scenes will come in due time. Oh, and for you fluff lovers, that will be coming soon too. I may do some lime too, just depends on where this story takes itself. It won't be anything explicit if I ever get there. Anyways, I just had to play with their emotions and get a plot started. Well, thanks for reading and please review! I really need to know what you think! **


	7. The Picture! Leaving Konoha

**AN: OMG Guys I am so sorry for not updating in forever! I am such a bad author. I want you all to know I haven't given up on this fic, it's just that my evilly busy life is getting into my writing time and I have had another bad case of writer's block. I wish there was a cure for it. So, what I did was I reread all the previous chapters so this will hopefully flow. Anyways, onto the Dedication!**

**Dedication: OMG I have over 60 reviews on this story! I think I am going to cry! I love all of you that have bothered to review or have put this onto their Favorites or Alerts. So, for the reviewers of the last chapter: This is especially to FarCryFromDead and LunarRose73 for all their encouragement for this new chapter. They have gotten me off my lazy ass to do it. Oh, and of course you, Stalker-sama, who I haven't talked to in a while. SMG-string, you rock! Ok, and for the other amazing reviewers from last chapter: burnstar, aki-child, Lady Kenly, Mrs. Nara Ino (love that name XD), Iudex Acerbus, TheLovelyNatalieRose, inuyashagurl, Flaming Beauty (I need to talk to you sometime! oh, I am working on your lemon!), Kunai1415, SarcasticallyTroublesomeGirl, Krazzy-chan, Fumei-824, Shikamaru-Nara2, ness345, XKeyokoX, ninjagal (my new DeviantART buddy!), the random, x0x, iCoco, Angelgirl18647, NarutosCuzTheSpyAgainstSasuke, and NazaliaSan. Ah! So many! Thank you all so much for your encouragement! Hope i ddin't miss anyone!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own nothing except a Shika-plushie once it is shipped to me…**

* * *

"Shikamaru's Fan Club Hotline. Mizuki speaking!" a tall red haired woman with an Anbu mask said into a phone. She was in charge today because of Aiko's mission. They rotated when Aiko was out of town. It was the Anbu's turns this time. 

"_Hey guys, guess what! I've got blackmail on Shika-kun and that slut Ino!" Aiko's voice filtered into the phone. "Put me on speaker!"_

"Ok Aiko-sama!" the Anbu woman did just that and Shikamaru's part of the Fan Club that was working in the office crowded around the phone.

"_Ok, so I went over to Shika-kun's house and I saw that slut in bed with him! I got a picture! Here, let me—Get off my phone! Ahhh!"_

"Aiko-sama!" the fan girls yelled.

"…_Ok, I'm back. I sent it to the Official Email Service. Gotta go on a mission. Bye, ladies!"_

"Bye Aiko-sama!" the fan girls chorused.Mizuki hung up and then rushed over to their computer. She logged onto the email service and opened the email. They clicked on the attachment and gasped at what they saw.

* * *

"No!" Ino yelled, jumping out of the bed and lunging for Aiko's phone. Aiko turned her back on her and yelled. 

"Get off my phone! Ahhh!" Aiko was wrestling for her phone, and held it away from Ino. "You break my phone and I'll inform Tsunade-sama of what you did to me and what you were doing before I came."

"But I wasn't—"

"I don't care. I could screw up this mission of yours also."

"…"

"Good."

"Troublesome. Ino, just let it be. We can't jeopardize this mission. Unfortunately, our reputations are of little importance compared to our mission."

"Fine." Ino sat down on the bed next to Shikamaru and put her face in her hands. "Ugh, I feel so sorry for you now, Shika-kun. This is all my fault."

"Ino, it isn't your fau—"

"I hate to interrupt this touching moment, but I just sent your wonderful picture to the other fan girls. Here, wanna see it?" Aiko showed Ino and Shikamaru the picture. Both their faces were red again looking at the compromising position they had been in.

In the picture, we see Ino with her arms around Shikamaru's neck. Shikamaru was still dressed as he had been last night. Ino's head was inches away from Shikamaru's. At the moment the picture had been taken, they were both looking into the other's eyes. Ino's regular ninja attire was revealing to say the least, and it looked as if they were about to do something…The blushes on their faces didn't help matters either.

Shikamaru placed his face in his hands. If his father ever saw that, he would never hear the end of it. His father would probably be all, "Shikamaru, you dog!" or "I guess you go for the feisty type!" or "I knew you had it in you, son." Oh, he was screwed. Wait, what if Ino's father saw this? Damn, he wasn't just screwed, he was dead.

"Alright, get up you two! It's time for the mission!"

* * *

An hour later the three of them were at the gates of Konoha. It would take them a good two weeks to reach Suna with Aiko, so they had better get started. Of course, there were always some complications… 

"No! Shika! Don't go!"

"We love you Shika!"

"Please! Take me with you!"

These were some of the things Shikamaru's fan girls were yelling out to him. One had grabbed his leg actually, a genin that was in the Young Strategic Division, which taught strategies to all the genin, and only chunin under the age of 14, that excelled in strategies. The course was taught by, of course, Shikamaru, on Sunday afternoons. All of his female students were in his fan club.

"Takara! Get off me!" Shikamaru yelled. His eye twitched in annoyance. Man, he was getting pissed and his laid back attitude was diminishing. After many more shouts, and a glare from Ino, the genin scrambled to her feet.

The whole time this was happening, the shinobi on guard duty were laughing their heads off. Of course, today was Kiba and Naruto's turn for guard duty.

After the fan girls were finishing up their goodbyes, Shikamaru and crew headed to the gates. He sighed. _It just had to be Kiba and Naruto…_

"Oh! Naruto-sama and the Inuzuka clan heir! You two were classmates of Shikamaru, right?" Aiko asked, a very fake smile adorning her face. _This is what you get for messing with me._

"Yeah. Hey, aren't you that crazy girl who is giving Shikamaru a pain in the ass? The head of his Fan Club?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah. You don't seem that crazy compared to the others." Naruto replied. Kiba and Naruto started laughing again, recalling the earlier events.

"Yes, I am the head of his Fan Club. Ok, so would you like to see this amazing picture of Shikamaru-san and Ino-san?" She asked the boys innocently.

"Sure." They said. _Perfect._ They had fallen for her charm.

"No—" Ino and Shikamaru shouted simultaneously. But it was too late. Aiko had whipped out her pink razor phone and shown the picture to them.

"Hahahaha! No fuckin way!" Kiba shouted. Naruto slung his arm around Shikamaru's shoulders. "I never knew you had it in you, buddy!" Naruto slapped Shikamaru hard on the back.

"Now don't do anything I would do out there! Oh, and Aiko, I want copies!" Naruto yelled as they rushed out the gates.

"Will do! Goodbye, Naruto-sama!" Aiko yelled as she ran to catch up to the others.

Once they were in the forest, Aiko sent the image to Naruto. And Ino and Shikamaru couldn't do anything about it. Unfortunately for them, this was just the beginning of the horrors of a fan club.

**

* * *

AN: I like this chapter. I know, you wanted something longer, but guess what? I started the next chapter already! I hope you liked how I included Naruto and Kiba. I needed some other characters. Well, this was a kinda filler, but this whole story is basically fillers and awkward moments. Well, the extremely awkward moments get intense next chapter. Oh, two words: bathing incident. Ok, so there is your spoiler. This will be interesting. Hehehe, review if you want that next update in a couple days! Yes, I said a couple days! I hope to get it out Wednesday maybe, but no promises! I need your support! If I get up to 75 before next chapter, I will make a ShikaIno oneshot, either for Home At Last or just a stand-alone one! **


	8. Setting Up Camp Drama!

**AN: Hey faithful readers! I am so sorry about the very late update. I am such a bad author; it's just that I got really sick. Not to mention life problems that I would rather not discuss. Oh, and I am slowly losing my inspiration for this fic. And damn, I was so into this, but I am getting ideas again. I swear I will finish it! Anyways, OMG I have gotten so many reviews and PMs it is unbelievable! I love you all for your support! lol I did that oneshot because of me getting over 75 reviews…75 OMG!! I have over 90 right now! My success is thanks to all of you. The oneshot is called Break-ups and Heart-aches to New Love and I'm gonna make it into a collection! I have atleast 25 ideas for future oneshot songfics. I will promise to try and not let this one stop being updated. But it is on hold until I finish this story. Or I get some mad-spectacular idea. lol onward to the dedication now!**

**Dedication: This is dedicated to my wonderful reviewers: Sweet n Sour–shikaino-, latafmodginkianp1618, Sekushi-san, simple i'm the best, Krazzy-chan, x0x, waterkunoichi, XenaiiTwilightMoon, SMGstring (of course you, Stalker-sama!), Kunai1415 (who has been here since the early chapter!), Mind Walking Rabid Squirrel, AngelGirl18647 (give her a round of applause for reminding me to post this next chapter!), ness345 (another one who has stuck with me!), TheLovelyNatalieRose (And another long-term reviewer!), DarkMaidenTerri (one of the first to review this fic!), aki-child, LunarRose73 (just got on my fic, but reviewed a bunch of chapters after they were published!), Fumei-824 (Another one who has stuck with me throughout this! Wow!), Cheez plz, burnstar, SarcasticallyTroublesomeGirl (got me off my lazy ass to finish this chapter), DreamsAreForbidden (Gawd! another one who has been through it all! I feel so loved XD), NazaliaSan, and, of course, you Ino admirer! I can't count how many PMs I have gotten from her! OMG she is so awesome especially for all the support I get from her! lol I encourage you, Ino admirer, to start writing a ShikaIno fic! You would make an awesome writer! And especially to Flaming Beauty who got me off my lazy ass to write this chapter! Everyone should thank her for this chapter! Wow this dedication is long! Hope I didn't forget anyone! Just tell me if I did and I will fix the problem!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto, just my pervy thoughts (hint-hint) **

* * *

"Can we take a break now?" Aiko said exasperatedly as she sat down a nearby boulder.

"But we just took a break a half an hour ago!" Ino retorted. "Again? Geez, no wonder you're not a ninja." They had been traveling for most of the day and had already had to stop exactly 22—wait, 23—times because of Aiko. At this rate, the normal 3 day trip to Suna for a ninja would take a week now! The mission time had been extended because Tsunade was aware of Aiko's "needs" fortunately.

"We might as well set up camp for tonight. It's already getting dark and we can't risk Aiko traveling at night." Shikamaru said, taking the pack off his back and setting it on the ground.

"Yeah...I guess…" Ino replied, also removing her pack and starting to rummage through it for the tent. No more words were exchanged while they started to make camp. Aiko continued to sit on the boulder, staring at them with a strange smirk on her face, which did not go unnoticed by Ino.

"What are you smirking at?" Ino asked, pausing in her search for the tent. She looked up to see Aiko with a baffled expression in her face. Although, the baffled expression looked forced to Ino…now Ino was getting suspicious.

"Nothing. Why would you accuse me of anything?" Aiko replied innocently. Ino didn't believe her, but shrugged it off, turning her attention back to the tent search. Aiko smirked again.

"Dammit! Where is that thing?!" Now we see clothes, ninja gear, and womanly items flying through the air. And Ino was at the center of it all.

"Aha!" Ino shouted to the world as she found the tent, pulling it out and starting to get it ready. _Some ninja she is, screaming out when it's almost dark. We could get found by the enemy. If only she knew…_Aiko thought to herself. She stifled a laugh.

"I'm going to start dinner." Shikamaru said, adjusting his tent for a final time. Ino was just starting building hers, so it would be a few minutes before she was done.

"Alright, Shika-kun, well I'll be heading over to that hot spring over there to take a bath. If you want, I can wait until you're finished making dinner so you can join me." Aiko batted her eyelashes at Shikamaru, fingering the top of her low-cut shirt.

Ino's eyes widened in surprise at that comment. _What the hell?!_ Her fists clenched, and it took all her strength not to go over there and beat the shit out of Aiko. Or laugh at the expressions that crossed the features of Shikamaru's usually indifferent face in the next few seconds.

Shikamaru had a freaked-out expression on his face. It turned from freaked-out, to embarrassed, to greatly disturbed. "Um, no thanks. You go ahead." _Now, had it been Ino, then I would definitely go. Wait, what the hell?!_ Shikamaru's face heated up again, and he busied himself with the dinner before anyone noticed.

Aiko sighed. "Fine, Shika-kun. Now, no peeking then. You had your chance." Aiko then winked at him over her shoulder and grabbed her small pink bag and a towel, slung them over her other shoulder, then headed over to the hot spring that was half-hidden by the trees.

* * *

Ino finished setting up her tent, and went to sit next to Shikamaru by the now cooking food. The minutes ticked by as they sat together in comfortable silence, both forgetting for a moment that Aiko was there. Shikamaru finished the food, which was just some ramen, and left it there until it cooled and Aiko returned.

Ino's eyes started to droop as the sky got darker. It had been a very stressful and tiring day, especially with Aiko there. She rested her head on Shikamaru's shoulder, and closed her eyes in contentment. Shikamaru, being the genius with the overactive imagination that he is, blushed profusely by this small action. He quickly glanced over at Ino, and couldn't help the small smile that appeared on his face just looking at the tired beauty. He was feeling tired also, and did something very out of character for the usually emotionless Nara. He rested his head atop of Ino's, and closed his eyes also. Ino unconsciously snuggled into his side. They both were fighting off sleep. This was bad for ninja. Someone needed to be watching the camp. But for this moment, there was nothing but the two of them. There were no consequences to their simple yet loving actions. That is, until a certain someone stumbled on the nearly-sleeping pair.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!!!"

Ino and Shikamaru were startled awake to say the least. And this isn't even the end of the first day of the trip of hell –cough-cough- I mean their journey to Suna.

**

* * *

AN: Alright, I know I promised a hot spring scene or something like that last chapter, and that this is very short, but whatever I wrote I just ended up deleting. As for the spoilers that I gave to some of my readers for their amazing support, those are due next chapter. I promise. Alright, so I wanted to atleast get this out before Spring Break. I will update again with the next chapter that was supposed to be this chapter during Spring Break, which starts on Wednesday 3/4/07 for me. Alright, so thanks again for your patience and please review! Thanks for reading!**


	9. A Lecture from Shikamaru

**AN: -LE GASP- lol I don't late French, but anyways, I am starting the next chapter! OMG can you believe it! You only had to wait 2 months for chapter 8, and now for chapter 9 only about, what, two months?! Damn I'm good. lols More like a serious pain in the ass. Anyways, thanks for the amazing reviews for last chapter! I had 11 within the first 3 days of posting it! OMG that is a career best for me! I love you all! Oh yeah, and before I forget, see my profile for a pic of what Aiko looks like. Follow instructions there. lol**

**Dedication: To the amazing and very faithful reviewers of last chapter: Haru (yes my brother reveiwed my chapters), Death.To. (I agree with that! lol I don't like pink), Fumei-824, Sweet n Sour –shikaino- (Pat-chan!! lols I beta 2 of her fics now. She is so cool and funny), waterkunoichi, xXoCherri1469xXo, LunarRose73 (my amiga, who stalks Shikamaru with me lol), aki-child, Krazzy-chan, burnstar, SarcasticallyTroublesomeGirl (I swear to god the nicest person EVER!! She reviews all of my lame chapters of Random Conversations with Naruto and Crew), fangal (LEXY!!! I just noticed you changed your penname from ninja gal to fangal. Now I can keep it straight cuz it's the same as on DA), XenaiiTwilightMoon (her fic is awesome XD), SMGstring (Stalker-sama!! Need I say more?), and last but not least Angelgirl18647 (who PMed me to get my lazy ass in gear. And has some amazing fics as well). I realized most of these people have way better fics then me, but they bother to review my lame fic and say its good! I love you all!!! –hugs my reviewers-**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. I do own some all-caps notes telling me to update this soon though!! –coughcoughAngelcoughcough- But that is from before last chapter. lol**

* * *

Let's just say that Aiko was rather surprised coming back from her bath. She had not suspected Ino and Shikamaru to be all cozy with each other. _Heh, this is going along smoother than expected._ Aiko smirked to herself before fixing a shocked, angered, and betrayed look in her face, then screaming to the heavens. 

"AAAH! WTFreak are you doing to _my_ Shika-kun?!" _Damn I'm good. I should've been an actress, they atleast get higher pay then being a—_

"Shut up!! Can't I enjoy a few moments of peace and quiet without you interrupting them!" Ino screamed, jumping up from her oh-so-cozy position with Shikamaru to point an accusing finger at Aiko.

Shikamaru just groaned, looking away from the troublesome females and to the sky, only to see that it was nighttime and no clouds were present. No stars were even out yet for him to look at! Time passed quickly between Shikamaru and Ino in such a peaceful state. But with Aiko there to ruin their peace, it felt like forever when in actuality it was only about 5 minutes, like now for instance. As Shikamaru was shaken out of his reverie, he looked over to the troublesome females to see them in a…_cat fight?_

"Bitch!" Aiko yelled, shoving Ino.

"You whore! How dare _you_ of all people push me!" Ino yelled back, pushing Aiko. Ino knew the consequences of this, and how she isn't supposed to harm a regular citizen, but screw it she was pissed off now!

"Slut! You're just jealous that I've made progress with Shika-kun in such a short amount of time, and you've been around him for years and haven't!" Aiko grabbed Ino's long ponytail and pulled, ripping out a few of the platinum blonde strands. She then jumped onto Ino, which caught Ino by surprise, causing her to stumble back and fall to the ground.

"Hey! When did Shika-kun come into this?! And what progress? He hates you!" Ino then flipped them over so she was on top, starting to send a punch at Aiko's overly made-up face.

* * *

Shikamaru witnessed all of this, first in a state of shock. As Ino's fist started to move towards Aiko's face, he finally sprung into action. He jumped off the log he was resting on, and ran over to the two fighting girls.

* * *

Ino's face contorted into a smile. She was finally going to give that Aiko what she deserved. But what she didn't sense was a presence coming towards them at an alarming rate. Next thing she knew, her fist was stopped inches in front of Aiko's face by a tanned hand she only knew too well. Ino was about to protest, and her mouth opened, but Shikamaru's free hand wrapped itself over her open mouth. She instantly shut it, knowing she had lost her cool and was due for a lecture. 

Shikamaru sighed. _What a drag. Women_ _are _sooo _troublesome. _He removed his hand from Ino's fist and mouth, and picked her up bridal style off Aiko effortlessly.

_What the hell?_ Ino thought at once when Shikamaru picked her up. A blush threatened to spread across her face at how close she was to him. As Ino was about to voice her opinion, and she looked up into Shikamaru's face, she was silenced by the look on his face. It was so…different. That's the only thing she could describe it as. But it wasn't really different. His facial expression was emotionless as always, but his eyes. They were a different story completely. They showed so many emotions at once at this close range. She was getting lost in them. She forgot what she was going to say, and only stared.

Shikamaru noticed her pondering stare, shook it off as shock from what just happened, and removed eye contact. He started to jump off into the trees, not a far distance away, for the safety of Aiko and their camp, but far enough so as not to be heard. He stopped probably a few yards away in another small clearing. He sat down, Ino in his lap, arms clutching his neck from the ride through the trees.

Ino had no desire to remove her arms it seemed. She enjoyed this position very much. She felt like she did when she just woke up from her mind transfer jutsu…although her blush was making this awkward. Shikamaru's voice broke the silence.

"Listen, Ino, I bet you've already guessed this, but we really need to talk." Ino shifted in his arms. The way he said it made it seem like he was going to break up with her. Ino shook off that feeling and looked him in the eyes.

* * *

Aiko took a deep breath, waiting for the impact. It wasn't time for her to reveal her true skills, so she would have to take this willingly. Although, she was surprised Ino would lose her cool this easily. She then closed her eyes. 

…

…

…

Nothing. No pain. Aiko's eyes fluttered open to reveal…the sky? Where the hell was Ino? Wasn't she just on top of her, about to punch her? Aiko got up into a sitting position, blinked confusedly, and started to look around. Nothing. Where the hell was Ino? And, wait a second! Aiko looked over to the log that was previously occupied by Shikamaru and Ino. Where the hell was Shikamaru?_ Oh shit, don't tell me I lost them? This wasn't supposed to happen! Ino was supposed to hit me! _Aiko stumbled while getting up, regained her composure, and set off towards the now-cooked food. _Well, might as well eat while I'm waiting._

* * *

"I know what you are going to say, Shika-kun. 'Your feelings towards Aiko cannot get in the way of the mission. Tsunade-sama will have our heads if anything happens, and that would be troublesome.'" Ino said this in a near-perfect imitation of Shikamaru's lazy drawl. 

Shikamaru just raised a brow at Ino and sighed, looking up to the clouds. "If you knew what I was going to say, then why did you do that?" _Women are so troublesome._

"Shika-kun! You should know by now that Aiko annoys me so much! She acts like she owns you, and that I'm just some annoying little brat that's always in the way! Geez, haven't we known each other long enough for you to know that I don't take that stuff!?" Ino huffed and removed her arms from his neck, instead crossing them over her chest and doing her little pout.

Shikamaru looked down at her and couldn't help but smile at Ino's childish behavior. She was such a spoiled child, a daddy's girl, and always got what she wanted. When she didn't, she would always do her little pout. She'd been doing this ever since they were children. He held in a laugh, and continued to look at Ino until she felt his unwavering gaze upon her.

"What?!"

"Nothing. Let's just get back to camp before Aiko eats all the food."

Ino sighed, got up off Shikamaru, and extended her hand. Shikamaru took it gratefully, being the lazy person he is that never wants to exert more energy than necessary. Ino hoisted up her teammate, and they simultaneously jumped into the trees back to the camp.

* * *

"_You what?!"_ Ino exclaimed, glaring down at a red Aiko as said girl licked her lips. 

"I…I ate all the food?" Aiko said sheepishly.

_And I thought women were troublesome before…_Our only male thought as he gazed at the again enraged Ino, and the surprisingly sheepish Aiko. "Alright, stop your bickering now you troublesome women.

Ino looked over towards Shikamaru, then back to Aiko, then finally to the empty pot which had once contained their dinner. She sighed. "Alright, I think I have some snacks in my bag." Ino went over to her pack and pulled out a bag of chips. She sat down on the log, next to Shikamaru. She shared a quiet smile at him. He returned it, and they started to eat the chips. It was a new ritual that they would always bring a bag of chips with them on every mission, just like Chouji always had. But, they would never eat the entire bag. One chip would be left for their fallen comrade. The last chip was, and always will be, his.

Aiko watched this exchange, puzzled beyond belief. But she shrugged it off, an evil smirk, like the one when they were setting up camp, arose to her face. She sat on the log across from the two shinobi, and watched then eating the bag of potato chips.

Ino and Shikamaru finished the bag of chips in comfortable silence, leaving the one chip in the bag for their deceased friend. Ino took the nearly empty bag of chips and placed it back in her bag. There was an eerie silence before Ino decided to break it.

"Alright, enough of this silence! It's starting to creep me out!" Ino forced a smile on her face, then looked up to the sky to see that it was late enough to get some shuteye. "How about we go to sleep now?" Ino looked over to Shikamaru, nodding at each other, and they both rose. Together, they performed some lightning-fast hand signs, and it became even more silent then before, most of the night sounds absent.

"What did you just do?" Aiko asked, startled. _I've never seen that jutsu before!_

Shikamaru just looked at her, bored expression intact. "It's a barrier jutsu. It's a combination of both my Kage Mane no Jutsu, and Ino's Shintenshin no Jutsu. You know how I can manipulate shadows and Ino can travel through minds, correct?"

Aiko nodded, a curious expression on her face.

"Good, so what this jutsu does is uses Ino's and my chakra-molding abilities used in performing our jutsus to create an invisible barrier around our camp. It keeps intruders out, but also keeps us in until both Ino and I release the jutsu."

Ino continued for Shikamaru. "This jutsu can only be performed by both a Nara and a Yamanaka. We were the ones who created the jutsu while on a mission last year. An accident, of course, with both of us performing the hand signs for out respective jutsus at the exact same time became this jutsu."

Aiko looked bewildered for a moment, then a sense of understanding came over her. "Wow, Shika-kun, I never knew you were _this_ talented! Very few make their own jutsus. Only the great can accomplish this." She gave him what she thought a 'sexy smile.'

"Hey! I played a part in this jutsu development as well!" Ino retorted, glaring at the purple-haired girl.

"_Sure_ you did, Ino." Aiko gave a little smirk, flipped her hair over her shoulder, and then strolled over to the fire, putting her hands over it to warm them from the slightly-chilly air.

Ino just sighed, counting to ten in her head, and went to grab the rest of her bag, throwing it into her tent. She stretched, standing at the entrance of her tent. "Well, I'm beat. I'm heading to bed now, since no one needs to take watch with _our_ foolproof jutsu."

Aiko just turned away from the fire, and walked over to the others. As she came closer, her smirk was no longer hidden in the dark. She rubbed it off her face quickly though, pretending for something to dawn on her. Making her eyes wide and her mouth forming in the shape of an O, Aiko lifted a hand to cover her face. She then looked up to see the confused faces of both Ino and Shikamaru.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed. "I forgot my tent!" Both Shikamaru's and Ino's minds worked rapidly over this new piece of information. They all came to one conclusion: someone will be bunking with someone else. And knowing Aiko…

"Oh well! I guess I'll just _have_ to sleep with Shika-kun!"

**

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**AN: How bout that for a decent-sized chapter? Over 2,000 words! But I haven't updated in a while, so you deserve it XD Hey, the plot is moving finally! Well, atleast I think it is! This was actually meant for like 2 chapters ago, but I just couldn't figure out how to get it in! Oh well, we finally have the sleeping arrangement problems! Sorry, I couldn't resist. Anyways, you are probably wondering about how far in the plot we are. Yes, there is a plot if you haven't noticed my foreshadowing with everything Aiko has said. I'm hinting at her not being exactly what she seems. Okay, so anyways, I am probably about maybe one-third through my original plot. lol but with the way I plan on the chapters to be, with the next two or three chapters I plan to be atleast halfway through it. Oh, once we get to Suna the real fun begins! BTW this fic will probably only be about 15 chapters long. I plan on finishing it by July. That's what I'm shooting for. Ok I really need to shut up now. lol well thanks for reading and please review! **


	10. New Sleeping Arrangement Fun

**AN: You all have every right to kill me. **

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto.**

**Dedication: To you, my faithful readers, for sticking with me to 10 chapters…that have taken as long as a pregnant woman to give birth (btw that's 9 months). **

* * *

"Oh well! I guess I'll just _have_ to sleep with Shika-kun!"

Shikamaru and Ino just thought of these simple words, mulling them over in their heads over and over again. But Shikamaru, being the tactical genius that he was, had already thought of over 100 different ways that Aiko would not have to sleep in the same tent as him. As he opened his mouth and was about to offer some of these different scenarios, Ino beat him to it.

"Aiko, I hate to break it to you, but there is a much more socially correct way of our sleeping arrangements to be fixed due to our current situation. How about you and I share a tent?" Ino offered in a sickly sweet voice to the non-ninja, a maniacal smile on her face. Aiko shivered at the look on the kunoichi's face, and mumbled an affirmative answer. _That bitch is scary…_

Shikamaru just stared at Ino, disturbed by the expression on her face. He then fixed on his usual look and, taking command of the situation, said. "Alright, now that that's settled, let's get to bed."

It took only a few moments of silence as the group settled into their tents. No sounds from outside the barrier were heard, the only sound was of some shifting of objects inside the tents. That is until…

"No, I'm sleeping on the right side!"

"No I am!"

"No, me!"

"Me!"

Shikamaru was shaken out of his quiet time in his tent by the two troublesome females in the tent next to his. Specifically, they were in a tent on the left of his. Thus, the two females, he concluded, were arguing over who would sleep closer to him. Well, Aiko was arguing and Ino was attempting to prevent him from any torture while he was asleep according to his hypothesis. Shikamaru sighed audibly, throwing on a t-shirt and walking outside to the tent next to his. Without thinking, he zipped open the tent and peered inside.

Oh, was he not expecting to witness this. Ino and Aiko. In revealing pajamas (if you could call them that). Fighting. Aiko was wearing a skimpy pink nightgown and was currently whacking Ino with a pillow. Ino was wearing a white tanktop that didn't cover her completely and baby blue shorts with a white stripe down each side. She had a pillow for defense on Aiko, but quickly changed to offense. Shikamaru, fighting his hormones, cleared his throat to make his presence known. Both girls stopped what they were doing and stared at the young man standing at the entrance of their tent.

"Aaaahhh!!!" They both yelled, throwing the pillows at him.

"What the hell are you doing, Shikamaru!" Ino yelled, standing up and walking over to her now on the ground comrade. "Pervert!!!" She said before preparing to send him one of her famous Ino-slaps.

Shikamaru quickly grabbed her wrist before she could do any damage, throwing the troublesome situation into his favor with his sharp mind. "Troublesome women, I was trying to stop you guys from arguing! We need to get up early tomorrow and it's necessary for us to get as much sleep as possible!"

Both Ino and Aiko 'oh'ed before lying down in their sleeping bags, Ino on the right-hand side, closest to Shikamaru's tent. They both apologized quickly before rolling over and feigning sleep, embarrassed by what they had done in front of him.

Aiko's mind was screaming, _Yes!!! We're on our way now! No screw ups! Alright, so now that they fell into my trap for getting Ino to sleep with me, all I have to do is—_

Aiko's thoughts were cut off as she felt something on her wrist. The purple-haired girl looked down to see Ino's pale and slightly calloused hand on it. As she looked up, she met distressed sky blue eyes.

"Listen Aiko, we don't like each other, but for this mission, let's try to get along! Please? For Shika-kun?"

Aiko smirked, thoughts hidden to the clueless kunoichi. "Sure, Ino-_chan._"

Ino ignored the obvious sarcasm at the –chan with her name. She rolled over, away from Aiko, and faced the side of the tent, which was close to Shikamaru. A smile unwittingly appeared on her face as she stared at the side of the tent, and she fell asleep with the expression on her face.

--

Shikamaru yawned, waking up from about an hour's worth of sleep. It was on purpose though, not from a bout of insomnia. He stretched, a few muscles cracking, and stood up, grabbing a towel, some clean clothes, and a few kunai just in case. It was bath time. Because of the threat of Aiko (or Ino) peeking on him during the day, Shikamaru had decided to wait to get a bath. He figured now would be a good time to take one, as the females were asleep in the tent.

Shikamaru quietly got out of his tent, taking a peek at the females. It was quiet, for one of the few times this evening. He shook his head, heading over towards the water. Right before he got to the end of the camping area, he performed a few hand signs, making a small hole in the barrier both he and Ino had made earlier that evening. The Nara clan heir made his way out through the hole, performing more hand signs and closing the invisible hole so as to protect the ones still inside.

Shikamaru walked on, towards the water. He yawned yet again with eyes closed, this time audibly, because neither Aiko nor Ino would be able to hear him. He raised a lightly browned hand to pat his mouth, eyes opening once more. Turning his neck from side to side, he cracked it, wincing at the sound. Boy did he need the water to sooth his sore muscles. _Damn, I'm so tense. _Shikamaru thought to himself. _Troublesome women are too much wo—_

Shikamaru's thoughts were cut short as he arrived at the last set of trees before the water. He had heard a splashing sound. It wasn't the sound of an animal splashing, that he was sure of. It sounded…human. Shikamaru cautiously stepped up to the branches obstructing his view and pushed them aside, leaving a small opening for him to walk through to investigate the sound. Shikamaru was awe struck at what he saw by the water. His hormones would not be suppressed this time! Eyes wide open, he stared at the sight before him.

Ino stood with her feet in the water, back turned away from Shikamaru, long blonde hair cascading down her back. Clad only in a towel, in which she was slowly, _slowly_ lowering off her body. It wouldn't be long until she noticed him, and when she did—

"Aaahh—mmph!"

**

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**AN:-shot- I want to leave the chapter at this. It's an in-between chapter. I know. Sorry. Especially because it's only 3 pages on Word, but atleast you have something. I'm having trouble writing the next (and one of the most important in my opinion) parts. I promised this a few chapters ago, and you're gonna get it. Meh, but we're close. I hope you liked the end of this one. I wrote it right after I wrote the beginning of this chapter, so I would force myself to write all the stuff in-between it. It wasn't much, I know, but please don't hurt me! I'm trying! Next chapter up ASAP, this I promise you! Please review and thanks especially for reading! **


	11. Ino's Nighttime Mischief

**AN: Told you I'd get to work on this ASAP. Hehehe I think this is my fastest update! But let it be known that I am disappointed by the number of reviews I got for last chapter. I really want to continue this story, but if you all are losing interest, which I assume you are from the lack of reviews lately, then I may discontinue it, or put it on hold for longer than my 2-month updates. It's all up to you. I'm only posting this for the people I know want this next chapter, you know who you are.**

**Special Note: Anyone watching stories by the author XenaiiTwilightMoon, I have information from the author herself for you. She can't get onto fanfiction, and a few other websites, because her computer is messed up. That's why she hasn't updated in a while.**

**Dedication: To SarcasticallyTroublesomeGirl. I actually don't really have a good reason for dedicating this to her. Actually, I do. It's because she is probably one of my most faithful reviewers! She's stuck with me through almost my entire fanfiction career! Every chapter of every story I know she has read, and I believe reviewed! So thanks for sticking with me, Troublesome-chan! Oh, and also for the idea that I'm ending this chapter with!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto, but I do own Aiko (unfortunately). Do you think that K. Masashi will trade me Shikamaru for Aiko?**

* * *

Ino woke up from only about 30 minutes worth of sleep…if you could call it that. It was more along the lines of her sleeping for about 5 minutes until Aiko started snoring away, then laying in her sleeping bag trying to cover her ears with a pillow, rolling over because she was uncomfortable, etc. Deciding that it was pointless, Ino remembered that she had yet to bathe. She had wanted to wait for nighttime, because then Aiko and Shikamaru would be asleep and she wouldn't have to worry about anything. It's not that she didn't trust Shikamaru, it was Aiko. Who knows what she would do? 

_Pft, that bitch would probably steal my clothes or something. _Ino thought to herself as she grabbed some bathing necessities and quietly made her way out of the tent.

Before leaving the tent, Ino quickly peeked over at her tent-mate. Ino fought back laughter watching the ever-worried-about-her-appearance Aiko sleeping with her mouth open, drool rolling down the side of her face, nostrils flared, and a deep snore being emitted from that large mouth. Ino shook her head, and then an evil smile appeared on her face. She stealthily went back to her side of the tent, grabbed a camera out of her bag, and took a picture of Aiko. Only problem was, Ino had forgotten to turn the flash off. A bright light ricocheted off the sides of the tent. Ino was sure that Aiko would wake up and was frozen to her spot in fear, holding her breath, waiting for Aiko to wake up.

_Oh shit ohshitohshitohshit!!! _

Aiko's snoring hitched for a moment, and sweat appeared on Ino's forehead.

_Please don't wake up, please don't wake up, please don't wake up!!!_

Aiko then rolled over, and her snoring continued. Ino inaudibly let out the breath she was holding, breathing a sigh of relief.

Ino walked out of the tent after putting away her camera. _Oh, I can't wait for Shika-kun to see this!_ She placed a hand over her mouth and muffled the giggle that was trying to escape her at the thought of blackmail. _Whoever said revenge is sweet was right! _

Ino continued on after successfully holding back her laughter. She performed some lightning-fast hand signs and made a hole through the barrier she had played a part in making, then quickly walked through it and re-closed the barrier with more lightning-fast hand signs.

Once out of Shikamaru and Aiko's hearing range, Ino collapsed into a fit of giggles, clutching her sides. Her only wish was that Shikamaru was there with her. God did she love his laugh; it always made her feel so warm inside. It was such a shame it was almost never heard. Only on rare occasion did she even get to see him smile. But when he did, Ino swore it lit up the whole room, not to mention it was contagious, making her smile with him, even if he was smiling at something embarrassingly stupid she had done. Ino thought back, a smile resting on her face because of the flashbacks of her and Shikamaru's days together after her laughter had ceased and she had started back towards the water.

Ino finally made it to the last of the trees, pushing away some branches to get to the water. She quickly discarded her clothes by the bank, grabbing the towel she had brought with her and wrapping it around her naked body. She waded into the shallow parts of the water, towel still on her. She needed to adjust to the hot liquid of the hot spring around her before she went any deeper.

"Ah," she murmured to herself as the water lapped around her ankles, and she closed her eyes in contentment.

It was so peaceful out here, away from everything else. She let her mind wander as she took a few steps further out, feet splashing the water as she did so unconsciously. Her towel began to drop as the water came to just below her knees. She opened her eyes, which were now clouded because of the swarms of memories and dreams attacking her at this moment of peace. Sweet, sweet memories. Memories of her and Sakura when they were younger, before the fight. Memories of her and her parents in the fields picking flowers, memories of Team Ten, before the death of Asuma and Chouji, memories of her and Shikamaru. Her dreams were of a sweet nature as well. Dreams of Asuma still being alive, still there to teach her and the team, still smoking and blackening their lungs from the secondhand smoke, still there to treat them to barbeque, and still there to play shogi with Shikamaru and lose every time while Ino and Chouji watched. Oh, dreams of Chouji being there all the time, chip bag in hand, and his ever-present smile still there. Dreams of her and Shikamaru, bickering with each other fondly, being with each other every day either training or cloud-watching, finally being what she most wanted them to be…lovers…

Ino's thoughts were cut short as she sensed a large chakra a few feet behind her. She grabbed her towel and pulled clutched it to her chest, preventing it from going any lower, she quickly turned around to see a man standing there watching her, hidden by the shadows. Without thinking, she let her instincts take over: she screamed.

"Aaahh—mmph!"

* * *

Aiko shut her mouth at the sound of a scream coming from far away (_Still very loud though,_ she thought cynically), ending her fake-snoring session that Ino fell for. She winced, her ears had just popped at the pitch of Ino's scream _I thought this barrier was sound-proof. I guess nothing can block out the sound of Ino's shrieking. Maybe I should have listened to the other fan girls when they warned me that Ino can shriek like a banshee. _

Aiko yawned, reached over to her pink bag, and pulled out a small notebook. Sitting up, she flipped to a clean page, dated it, and wrote:

"_Step 2 of the mission complete. Ino and Shikamaru have experienced another embarrassing moment, causing more confusion in their relationship. Step 3 to be completed simultaneously with Step 2 if Ino takes the bait previously set prior to her leaving the encampment." _

Aiko smirked at her latest entry to the mission log she'd been keeping for the past two years. _Once I finish this stupid mission, I can finally return home. _A bittersweet smile landed on her soft features as she thought back to her purpose for being here._ Mizukage-sama…Daddy…I miss you. _

**

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**AN: Dun-dun-dun! Weren't expecting that, were you? The Mizukage (I'm pretty sure that's what they call the leader of the ****Land**** of ****Water****) is Aiko's father! Oh, I'm good! XD I know, another in-between, short chapter until Aiko's POV at the end. I seriously was planning on revealing that when we got to Suna, but I figure that there's gonna be enough drama in Suna as it is, and that it won't hurt to finally let you know a very key piece of information. And I happened to like Ino's part of this chapter, the part of her memories and dreams were so sweet, and very fun to write. Not to mention it had some ShikaIno in there. Not to worry, definite ShikaIno next chapter! I'm stuck on how to write it! I want to get them together, but there's also a bunch of scenes I plan on doing before and in Suna that I can't do with them together! Ah well, they'll just have to wait a bit before the sexy stuff comes! –starts to run from rabid hentai ShikaIno fans- Well thanks for reading and please review!!! You readers who don't review but watch my story know who you are!! **


	12. Hot Spring Fiasco

**AN: Sorry, I went on vacation. This would have been updated sooner, but oh well. Weeee! Another chapter! Because my internet sucks and will not connect, I've written chapters 10, 11, and 12 at about the same time! Just had to add a little bit more to chap 12. That way it's not taking me a month (or more) to update! I'm just updating when I feel like I've gotten enough reviews or that I'm tired of waiting for more and want to be nice and post it. **

**Dedicated: To all my reviewers again! You keep me going! Oh, especially to XenaiiTwilightMoon, whose stupid computer will not allow her to go on fanfiction, and has been reading this via notes through DeviantART.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but I do own Shikamaru's heart! Wait, dammit! Ino stole it from me!!!! Grrrr!!!! –deep breaths- Alright, I'm calm. I'd rather Ino had it than anyone else, because I'm a diehard ShikaIno fan. :D**

**Warning: This chapter finally proves why this fic is a T-fic. Which means no sex (hentai ShikaIno fans grab pitchforks) but, well, you'll find out. It's kinda like a PG-13 part of a movie. It isn't that bad as some of the PG-13 movies out there, but, ok, I'll just shut up now. Just be warned if you're not over the age of, hmm, 11. See, not that bad.**

* * *

Shikamaru ran over and clamped his hand over Ino's mouth. He bent down and whispered in her ear, shivers traveling down Ino's spine as his hot breath tickled her ear. 

"Shhh, it's me. I didn't know you were here! I was going to take a bath while Aiko was asleep; I guess you had the same idea."

Ino nodded, eyes still wide from when Shikamaru had covered her mouth. Shikamaru gently removed his hand from her mouth, fingers brushing her lips accidentally, causing them both to shiver and blush despite the hot water around them.

Shikamaru had yet to change out of his pajamas, which consisted of boxers alone, that which Ino was both thankful and worried about. When his hand had been covering her mouth, his bare chest had brushed again her partly-bare back, leaving a tingling sensation from the skin-on-skin contact. _Atleast he hadn't removed everything._ Ino though to herself, but there was still a part inside her that really wished he had. Her thoughts skyrocketed to _X-rated_ material of what Shikamaru could have done if he wasn't wearing anything. Or, rather, what _she_ could do to _him_. Ino's face became beyond crimson as she shook away the thoughts of her and her attractive teammate.

Both ninja were clueless as to how they were going to work this situation. Shikamaru had moved to stand in front of Ino, yet both were looking away from each other. Ino wanted to act like herself and scream to the high heavens about Shikamaru being a pervert and needing to get the hell out of here while she bathed, or be her impulsive self as well and pounce on him right here and now while doing those X-rated things. But knowing that this was a mission and that already enough commotion had taken place in one day, she held off. Shikamaru was not looking at Ino for a very obvious reason: hormones. It would be quite embarrassing for a certain reaction caused by Ino's clothing, or, rather lack of clothing. But he, however, knew someone had to say something or else they'd stand here all night.

"Troublesome, I think I'll, uh, stand over there until your done and, you know, wait." Shikamaru started to walk back over towards the trees until he felt a small hand wrap around his wrist, halting his movements.

"NO!!!" Ino yelled, tugging on Shikamaru's wrist and dragging him closer to her, making him bump into her. Faces inches apart and eyes wide, Ino had never been more embarrassed, and mentally slapped herself across the face for being so impulsive. I guess that's why Ino's self-control was not one of her well-known qualities.

"Um…I mean..." Ino continued, staring into Shikamaru's dark and glittering eyes while subconsciously wetting her lips.

Shikamaru's gaze fell to her mouth as her tongue moistened those perfectly pink lips. He stifled a groan watching her, trying his hardest to prevent any reactions from happening. It was getting quite tough with how close they were. How Ino's hand that was holding up her white towel just brushed his bare chest. How the hand wrapped around his wrist was firmly holding him in place, but still soft and gentle.

"…what, Ino?" He questioned her after another long pause, his voice surprisingly husky to both of them.

Ino bit her lip. _Oh god. Oh god. Ohgodohgodohgod!!!!_ She thought to herself, his voice making her tremble. How she wanted to just throw herself at him. But her impulsiveness had already gotten herself into this situation, so she wasn't going to do anything else without thinking it though!

"I…I…um, t-there's enough space in the hot spring, so, um, we could go at the same time…" The words sounded so wrong to her, but she knew she had to keep going, "I mean, there's a bunch of rocks separating the spring in half, so we could each take a side, that way Aiko isn't left at camp alone the entire time. God knows what she would do while being alone!" Ino forced a fake-laugh at the end of her sentence, so fake that it wasn't even close to convincing to either of their ears.

"Troublesome Aiko." Shikamaru mumbled, but being so close Ino heard it and giggled. A smirk came to rest on Shikamaru's face at her laughter, which was real this time, and he continued, "Sounds good enough, I'll just, uh, grab my stuff. You can have this side, I'll go over there." Shikamaru pointed to the far side from where they stood now with his free hand.

Ino released his wrist as he turned to get his stuff. As soon as he got far enough away, she breathed a sigh of relief for getting out of that situation. _Phew!! I guess the only good thing about my impulsiveness is that it's gotten me into enough tough situations that I've developed an uncanny way to get out of things!_

So Ino and Shikamaru were able to enjoy a nice and relaxing bath in the hot springs, especially because there was no Aiko to disrupt them.

But is anything ever really nice and relaxing in the ninja world? The answer is simple…no.

"Aaahhh!"

_-thump-_

Ino and Shikamaru were shocked out of their relaxing bath by a noise from not that far away. Quickly grabbing their towels and wrapping them around their bodies, they both shot up and ran towards the noise. In their haste, they had forgotten to grab the kunai they had stashed with them.

Ignoring the fact that they were both practically naked and running through a forest, Ino and Shikamaru kept running until they sensed a familiar chakra presence, lying on the forest floor, having obviously gotten shocked and passed out while running through the trees. Shikamaru and Ino skidded to a halt at the form that lie beneath them.

"Hinata?" Ino and Shikamaru questioned simultaneously, looking at the passed-out ninja in front of them.

Considering the fact that she was out cold, and would take a few minutes before she would awaken, Ino and Shikamaru pondered why Hinata would, first of all, be out here alone, and second of all, pass out. It took them a few moments to figure out why Hinata had passed out: she had been using her Byakugan. Both Shikamaru and Ino blushed furiously at what Hinata must have seen and understood why the shy and easily embarrassed girl had passed out. Ino crouched down, making sure her towel still covered her, and grabbed a canteen full of water that Hinata must have been carrying, and poured it on the Hyuuga. Hinata shot up instantly, and the first thing she saw was Ino…in a towel.

"I-Ino-chan? W-what are y-you doing here? A-and in a towel!" she questioned, looking into the blue eyes of her friend.

"Yeah, it's me. Shikamaru and I were sent on a mission to Suna, and were stuck escorting that Aiko fan girl as well. So we both were, uh, taking a bath now so that way Aiko wouldn't sabotage us or anything."

It was then that Hinata noticed Shikamaru. Looking away from her good friend and over to the other original Rookie 9 member, she was forced to look away quickly because of his state of clothing, or, rather, lack of clothing. Hinata took a few deep breaths and started to analyze the situation, remembering that she was a kunoichi and could handle seeing a comrade nearly naked. Hinata's blushing face looked back and forth between Ino and Shikamaru, a questioning look upon her visage.

"W-were you bathing…t-together?" Hinata asked timidly.

"No!!!" They both yelled at the same time, and then Ino recounted the story of what had happened, leaving out certain _parts _of course.

After hearing the story and nodding, Hinata stood up. "W-well, I should be g-getting back to m-my mission. I have to s-send a s-scroll to Grass by the end of the n-night."

Hinata then took off, leaving Shikamaru and Ino in yet again another awkward position. Shikamaru was the first to speak.

"Well, even though it's troublesome, we should be getting back to camp."

"Yeah." Ino replied, trying her hardest not to look at the wet Shikamaru, which was extremely hard to do, she soon found out.

Shikamaru, having similar problems concerning Ino, decided to solve his problem by quickly walking back to his side of the hot spring and throwing on the clothes he had brought with him. Ino took his example and went to get changed herself. They both walked back to camp without another word between them…

Once Shikamaru and Ino reached the barrier, they performed their respective hand signs and undid it, entered the camp, and redid it. There were still hours left before the time to awaken, and Shikamaru and Ino, without another word spoken between them, entered their respective tents to _hopefully_ get a few hours of shuteye.

* * *

Ino rolled around helplessly, her restless mind and a certain _noise_ coming from her _roommate_ keeping her awake. 

"Ugh," Ino moaned into her pillow, which was resting over her head in an attempt to drown out the sound of Aiko's snoring.

After a pointless 15 minutes of waiting for Aiko's snoring to subside, Ino sat up, the bags under her eyes apparent even in the little light. She grabbed her pillow, opened the tent, and stealthily snuck out and away from that noisy purple-haired freak. Ino then went to perform the task that would definitely allow her to fall asleep…

* * *

Shikamaru, unlike his female teammate, was having no trouble at all in falling asleep. Of course, he was famous for being able to fall asleep on a whim, and thus his little _talent_ was getting it's use right now... 

"Pst, Shikamaru!!"

Yes, Shikamaru was known for being able to fall asleep whenever he wanted, but certain factors would also help to prevent him from using his talent. Tonight, it was the _Ino-factor_…

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**AN: A decent chapter, I believe! I had my smexy ShikaIno, and then left a pretty sweet cliffhanger. Not to mention it's only been 2 weeks since I last updated! This would have been posted already if I hadn't gone on vacation last week, but oh well; it's still a fast update!! Okay, so I really hope you liked this, and please please PLEASE review!! They fuel my author powers and keep me going! And most of all, thanks for reading**!!


	13. The Horrors of a Tired and Pissed Ino

**AN: Mendokuse, I don't feel like writing right now. But I have to, because you all will kill me if I don't freakin update this story and get a move on with it! It could be so good if the plot actually moved!**

**Dedication: To Shikamaru-Nara2, for his freakin hilarious review! And of course to the rest of my reviewers! Love ya! OMG that sounded so preppy! Ah! –grabs MCR CD's a runs to fix the problem-**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I do, however, own a Naruto T-shirt! Take that, K. Masashi!! XD**

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Shikamaru sat up, in a sleepy trance, and glanced at the opening to his tent with half-lidded eyes. Being as lazy as ever, he plopped back down onto his sleeping bag, closed his eyes, and attempted fruitlessly to fall back asleep. "Mmm, troublesome." He mumbled to himself quietly so as the person outside would not hear him. 

"Shikamaru! I know you're awake!" The voice from outside, which Shikamaru's hazy mind recognized, continued to bother the poor, tired shinobi. Rolling over in his sleeping bag and pulling the blankets over himself, he attempted to muffle the complaints.

After a good five more minutes of the same routine going on, and an ever-annoyed kunoichi still waiting outside, Shikamaru was finally awake enough to get off his lazy-ass, unzip the tent, and watch as Ino stumbled inside, not prepared for the tent to be opened so suddenly. Rising up suddenly from her jumbled form half on the floor and half on Shikamaru, Ino forced up a good glare. "Shika—" Ino started, but was cut off by a pillow hitting her in the face, via Shikamaru.

Shikamaru just lay back down, oblivious to the world in his sleepiness, and turned his back on the confused girl, already asleep before his head hit the pillow he had just retrieved after throwing it at Ino. He was finally able to fall back asleep.

Ino, not to happy with the way things were going this night, decided to let out her frustrations on her teammate.

"_Graaaah!!"_

Ino's sudden battle cry awoke the sleeping shinobi fully, eyes going wide as saucers as he sat up and turned to see the female attacking him with her pillow.

"Ino--!"

Shikamaru was cut off as the pillow hit him right in the kisser, knocking him back down onto the sleeping bag with a big smacking sound echoing throughout the tent.  
----------

Outside the tent and into the one next door, Aiko's eyes popped open, and a smirk rested on her face. She reached over to her bag, grabbed out some ear plugs, and placed them in her ears. Before she fell asleep for real this time, she quietly mumbled to herself. "Not too late, guys. We have to get up early tomorrow."

----------

Ino hopped onto the very dizzy Shikamaru and straddled his waist, pillow hovering threateningly over Ino's head. Taking a closer look into Shikamaru's half-lidded eyes and ignoring his groans of pain from the hard hit, she glared hard, big blue eyes turning to slits.

"Let me sleep in here or _someone_'s not going to wake up in the morning." Ino threatened. She could be mighty scary when she was pissed. Or tired. And this is the result of her being both. Oh my, Shikamaru's poor soul…

Shikamaru, eyes now wide not only from the compromising position he was in, but also from the fear caused by an uber-pissed Ino, could only nod as Ino got off him with a sickly sweet smile, threw her pillow down next to his, slipped into his sleeping bag facing away from him, and fell asleep.

Shikamaru's eyes tuned back to their normal size, and he just glanced back to the sleeping kunoichi beside him. He sighed, figuring it was too late to analyze this any more, and let himself fall to his dreams.

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**AN: Ugh, this chapter sucks. It's so half-assed. I think I got too caught up in the humor of the moment to really do the romance right. Well, we're finally moving on with the plot now, and I think I'll be able to get really into this story again with the next chapter. Next chapter is, well, you may want to shoot me. So thanks so much for reading and please review!!! **


	14. Impulsive Night

**AN: Hey! This would have been a really fast update, but damn school got in the way. Not to mention this was kinda hard to write…Okay, I'll shut up now so you can read!**

**Warning: This chapter gets a bit…limey. Okay, very very limey. Between who, you'll just have to wait and see. –evil smirk- So, leave if you can't handle it. But I think all of you can. Actually, revising this, I'd say some of you probably couldn't. It's all up to you to decide.**

**Dedication: To my reviewers of last chapter! You all rock! **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, this kinda chapter would happen more often. Hehehe.**

* * *

"Mmm, Shika…" 

Shikamaru was awoken by a moaning voice. Groaning himself, he rolled over to face Ino. Eyes half lidded and lips parted slightly and seductively, Ino gently brushed a hand down his bare chest while looking up at him. Shikamaru's eyes widened at her touch, and a blush came to his face instantly while looking at his female teammate. He couldn't help but start to feel aroused at the way her body was pressed sensuously to his. Her tank top had rolled up during the night, with one strap was falling off a shoulder, and her shorts were pushed further up her legs to expose even more skin. One leg was draped over his, pulling their lower bodies closer together. With only a minimal amount of light, courtesy of the half-moon that was out that evening, it only added more to the mood. Shikamaru couldn't help but wonder how he had not woken up from Ino's movements that had brought them closer throughout his sleep.

"I-Ino…" He started, but trailed off as both of her hands started to roam his upper body. Not accustomed to anything like this ever happening to him before, especially the doer of these actions being _her_, Shikamaru froze, chocolate eyes wide and just staring at Ino as she caressed his body.

Ino just muttered a small "yes?" with the knowing smirk of a seductress and continued her ministrations, but traveling lower and lower with each passing second. Shikamaru eyes widened a fraction more as he felt her hands rest on his lower abdomen right above the band of his boxers. His mouth opened and closed, trying to form the words to make her stop before something _happened_, but he just couldn't seem to find his voice.

_Troublesome, I really should consider wearing something besides boxers to bed._ Shikamaru thought to himself as his gaze moved from where Ino's hands rested up to the rest of her body. From her long legs to her beautiful face. Even though he thought this, most of him was rather happy he didn't. Despite knowing somewhere in his now hazy and lust-filled mind that this was wrong, that they shouldn't be doing this while on a mission, especially with someone in a tent right next to theirs, or that who-knows-what was causing her to act like this, Shikamaru couldn't tear his eyes away from her. His eyes—no longer wide—raved over her body, taking in her curvaceous form. Her lustrous blue eyes that gazed into his with the same emotion his held. It was plainly obvious that they both wanted each other, but it just depended on who was going to make the big move first.

Not thinking anymore, Shikamaru moved his arm, sliding it up her figure to her face to tuck a few loose strands behind her ear before he leaned in. How he could be so sweet when all he wanted to do was rip her clothes off and have his way with her, no one will even know. Eyes half-lidded and mind foggy, he barely registered her moving in as well until their lips connected.

At first, it was a light touch, no one moving away or moving closer to make it deeper. But after a few moments of this Ino wrapped her arms around Shikamaru's neck, burying her hands in his free hair and deepening the kiss. Shikamaru, taking this as a sign to just be impulsive and do whatever he wanted to at the moment unless Ino asked him to stop, wrapped his arms securely around her waist and pulled the blonde vixen tightly against him, igniting a moan from her.

They pressed against each other hard, trying to become even closer physically than they were. They explored each others mouths hungrily from built up feelings they had held inside too long. Hands roamed everywhere, all rational thoughts gone. There had been _way _too much sexual tension between those two. But when Shikamaru broke away from their passionate kiss to trail hot kissed down Ino's neck, it became truly inevitable where they were going. If Inoichi were to ever hear of this, Shikamaru would be dead.

Shikamaru rolled them over from their position on their sides so that he was on top, igniting a feeling of complete and utter ecstasy at knowing where this was going, and having Ino be this responsive to his actions was an added bonus. Little noises would come from her every few moments, and her form writhing beneath his asking for more was just enough to send him over the edge. His groin pressed into her thigh, ready to ignite a new and very pleasurable feeling in both of them. As his mouth was just about to reach lower of her breasts, and he was going to remove her top for better access, something happened.

BANG!

There were clashing sounds ringing throughout the area, coming from outside the tent. Not wanting to stop, he tentively looked into Ino's eyes, which held the same confusion and glaze from passion in them. But as the sound ceased, and all would be well for them to continue, Shikamaru realized something. They hadn't even talked about this, just jumped into things. And that's when Shikamaru woke up.

* * *

"Mmm…" Shikamaru groaned, lids opening so his eyes could see the light of day. Let's just say that realizing that nearly making love with Ino was just a dream wasn't exactly how he wanted to spend his morning. Not to mention he has a certain problem concerning his lower anatomy. A problem that needed to be fixed immediately, or else. 

Shikamaru tried to move, but was halted in his actions by looking at who was next to him. Ino. She still hadn't woken up. Her peaceful form made Shikamaru even more aroused, and he had to look away before he did something he would regret. He grabbed a towel and clean clothes, and got up, placing his bundle inconspicuously in front of his crotch, and scrambled out the tent. He needed a cold bath. A _very _cold bath. But what met him outside was not exactly going to help him find that release, I mean, relief.

"Shika-kun!!"

_Shit._

And now, Shikamaru was officially having the worst morning of his life.

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**AN: -shot- I'M SO SORRY!! Oh my, I really wanted that to not be a dream, but to be real!! Good news is, I think I wrote the lime pretty well! More good news, the plot is moving! Next chapter will be the last chapter of them journeying to Suna. The end of it should have them arriving there! Now we can finally get to some of the good stuff! Suna is the mid-way point of the story fyi. There's still a lot planned to come in the future, so keep on watching out! Well, thanks so much for reading, I hope you liked the lime! And please review! My goal is to have 300 by the end of this, and I'm almost 2/3 there! **


	15. Truce?

**AN: You all must hate me for how much writer's block I get for this story. Next time I decide to write a chapter fic, I'm pre-writing it so my glorious readers will not have to wait so long for an update. My deepest apologies to all.**

**Dedication: To my readers who have stuck through my horrible lengths of time between updates. You keep me away from updating once a year, instead of my once in a while kinda thing. XD**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, it would take forever to update, and then I would probably get killed by rabid fans. Thus the end of poor Naruto…**

* * *

"A-Aiko?!" Shikamaru stammered, clutching the bundle to his nether regions while sweating profusely.

Aiko internally smirked, correctly guessing from Shikamaru's stiff form, sweating face, and placement of hands and objects, that he had a little problem to take care of. _Oh more blackmail, my favorite._ She thought wickedly, her eyes glinting maliciously for a moment before she pushed it back. The girlish side came out with little giggles.

"Hehehe Shika-kun! What's got you all flustered? Ino being mean to you?" And she pouted while her inner self jumped for joy.

Shikamaru blushed hard, then ran past her, the bundle still placed "down below." He _had_ to wash up before Ino could see him like this.

Aiko watched him run away like he was being chased by rabid fan girls. She smirked, watching him trip over roots and stumble over fallen tree branches to make it out. His barrier jutsu had died off once the sun rose, so that was no hindrance.

There was a rustling sound from behind her, and Aiko turned around to see Ino crawling out of the tent with a yawn, sleep still present in her face.

She blinked, standing up to her full height and looking around. She glanced at the purple haired girl.

"Where's Shika-kun?" she asked, thoroughly confused. "I'm usually up before him."

Aiko smiled. "He went to _clean himself up_. He'll be back in a bit. So in the mean time, how about we cook some breakfast?" She smiled sweetly.

Ino rubbed her eyes and shook her head, but the image of a nice Aiko was still there. Her smile never faltered. Ino frowned.

"Okaaay."

Ino walked over and started pulling out ingredients.

"So, what do you want to make?"

Aiko looked deep in thought for a moment. "Hmm, how about scrambled eggs and bacon! It's something my parents used to make all the time for me!"

Ino's face was still a bit shocked, but she shook it off and smiled lightly back. "Sure! Sounds like a plan to me!"

And they set to work, the delicious aroma making their stomachs growl at the same time. They laughed.

"Aiko, I never knew you could be decent to be around." Ino said between eating a piece of bacon.

"Same here to you, Ino."

They ate in silence for a few moments before Aiko sighed.

"Look, there's a reason I'm being so nice…"

Ino put down her bacon, turning to look at the girl.

* * *

Shikamaru sighed, pulling a black T-shirt on and shaking his head, water droplets flying off the wet strands of hair into random directions. His "little problem" was taken care of, and no one found out…he thought. It was tough to tell with Aiko sometimes. Despite how outwardly girlish she was, he had a sinking feeling that there was something more to her. But he shook it off, blaming all the stress and pressure put on him lately as his questioning.

He put his hands in the pockets of his khaki cargo shorts, leisurely staring at the clouds through the tree branches of the forest as he made his way back. It was a nice day. The weather was comfortable, around 75 degrees Fahrenheit, and the sun was out with big fluffy clouds floating around. It was one of Shikamaru's "happy days." But his thoughts put a damper on his mood. All he could think about was Ino. Not the dream, _no_ that would cause more problems, but the causes of his dream. He knew he loved her. But now wasn't exactly the right time to tell her this. It was so confusing!

"Maybe when we get back…" He mumbled to himself as the camp came into sight.

"Shika-kun! Good morning!" Ino and Aiko both yelled at the same time, smiling while sitting in front of a fire with hot plates of food just waiting to be eaten.

He stopped.

Ino cocked her head to the side. "What's wrong?"

"Who are you and what have you done with Ino and Aiko?"

No yelling, no cold shoulders, no aura of hate or evil in the air. All was…calm. It was thoroughly confusing.

Aiko and Ino laughed.

"Oh Shika-kun," Aiko tutted "we can be civilized, you know? We finally got over out stupid little grudge and came to a truce."

"A truce?" Shikamaru questioned. He came and sat across the fire from the two, just in case all hell did break loose…again.

Ino nodded. "Yeah, we decided that this mission is top priority."

"Not to mention all those bad vibes are bad for the health." Aiko added.

And Shikamaru just sighed again. Today was one odd day…

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AN: I know, it's unbearably short (not even 1,000 words), but I wanted to post _**something**_**, you know? It's because DreamsAreForbidden finally got me off my ass to update. Now that she's back and on a mission to finish her chapter fics, it's gotten me wanting to finish mine.**


	16. Something Akin to Mischief

**AN: Since I can't come up with any more to write, this half-assed chapter will be posted as such.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto because if I did it probably would have stopped having new chapters.**

* * *

"Well, well, well. Look who's here…"

"Shut up, Kankuro." Ino glared at the sand nin she had gotten more familiar with throughout the joint missions between Suna and Konoha. "Why don't you be a man and take this _thing_ off me!"

Kankuro's joking face deadpanned as he looked at the snoozing girl on Ino's back.

"Hey, it wasn't part of Gaara's orders to do physical work. I was just supposed to escort you into the city."

Shikamaru rubbed his temples, tired from the journey.

"Just take the girl. Troublesome."

Kankuro sighed, carefully removing a sleeping Aiko off Ino's tired back and carrying her bridal style. His eyes narrowed for a moment, feeling something weird, but he shook it off and moved it to the back of his mind for later thought.

"Come on, you two, Gaara wants to meet with you after you've been showed to your rooms and eaten something."

Ino and Shikamaru looked at each other, then back to Kankuro. They started walking inside the gates as a group, attracting a few stares from the Suna civilians, but otherwise not thought twice of. It was a peaceful time in the aftermath of a near-war.

--

Aiko sat up, rubbing her eyes and knocking the covers around her down to her waist. She looked about the dark room, checking for anyone. No one.

She smirked.

"Hmm…"

The purple-haired girl got out of the bed, padding over to the wardrobe. Her clothes had all been hung up in a neat row.

--

Aiko emerged from her room, fixing the straps of her skimpy dress. 'If Shikamaru doesn't like this, then he has to be gay.' Was Aiko's train of thought as she maneuvered through the halls of the Kazekage's imperial sleeping quarters to reach the training grounds, where the object she was seeking must be. It was four in the afternoon, so he had to be starting his final round of training.

The desert sun glared into her eyes, the heat washing over her instantly. It was a good thing she had put on sun block before walking out here. Her "perfect ivory skin" would be burned in an instant.

"Oh, Aiko, what are you doing out here?"

Said girl turned, to see Ino approaching her, obviously heading for training.

Her jaw dropped.

"_That_ is what you train in?!" Aiko screeched as Ino was two feet away from her.

"What? It's hot here...Oh..." Ino smirked deviously, noting the skanky wear the other was wearing. She walked right past hear, heading for the clanging sound of metal. With her back turned towards the other girl, she stopped for a moment.

Aiko glared.

"Well don't you look cute. Like a little girl. Watch out, now! Big girls have to go train with the boys!" She pulled out a kunai to prove her point, throwing it accurately into the tree between a sparring Shikamaru and Kankurou. "Who said you could start without me?!"

"…Slut…" Aiko mumbled to herself, glaring at the appreciative glances the two men were giving Ino in her tight little tanktop and mini-skirt ensemble, not even looking in her direction. "This is a hell of a lot harder than I thought it would be." And she turned on her heel (it's a wonder she didn't break an ankle in _those_ heels) and stomped back up to her room to recalculate.

Thoughts were churning in her head as she reached the door to her room and opened it. She was at her destination and had arisen no suspicion. If only that damn Nara was easily seduced! But no, he had to be in love with his teammate. And it was also a minus to her that Ino was hotter than this body was! Why did she have to appear in such a…petit form?

"Petit, more like underdeveloped…" she muttered as she gazed at herself in the mirror. She was pretty, but not womanly. Too slim and narrow where curves should be. She threw off the skimpy dress and looked at this body, wishing for something different. Something sexy. But no, this would have to make due.

A light bulb appeared over her head, figuratively of course, and Aiko smirked, running to the closet and demolishing the organization. She pulled out several fabrics and her smirk turned almost primal.

"Bingo."

--

Shikamaru had no idea why Ino was in such a good mood, but as he thought about it again, he really didn't want to know.

A kunai whizzed past his ear, silencing his thoughts.

"Hey Shikamaru, get your head out of the clouds!" Ino laughed, receiving a mere grunt in response from Shikamaru.

Yes, something was definitely off here.

As he readied himself back in his stance and let his mind flow into calculations on how to quickly end this training session, a chill ran through his bones.

"I think we should call it a day." Shikamaru called out, easing into his normal posture and heading to the doors.

"Wha—Shika!" Ino called after, running after him in a confused state. Kankuro just stood there, a frown on his puzzled face.

"Konoha people…" He muttered before leisurely following them inside. It was almost time for dinner, anyway. An interesting affair to be sure…

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**AN: I'm really sorry for how terrible my updates are. My writing style has changed and so has my interest in this storyline. So until I get some type of love for this plot back, stupid chapters like this will continue. I may rewrite this whole fanfic one day with how much I hate how I've written it, but time will tell.****  
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